And On Monday (the cost of doing business in Michigan goes up)

We slide a little deeper into the fiery pit of progressivism  – (Reposted from RightMi.com)

Beginning September 1, 2014, Michigan employers will face an increase in the minimum wage rate from $7.40 to $8.15. The first rate increase since Granholm jacked employers in 2008, this new change to state law marks the beginning of a gradual 25 percent increase of the minimum wage resulting in $9.25 per hour by 2018. The State of Michigan makes new online resources available at www.Michigan.gov/miosha to help workers and employers face the facts as the new rate takes effect.

On May 27, 2014 the ‘Workforce Opportunity Wage Act,’ Public Act 138 of 2014 (Act 138), took immediate effect replacing the Michigan Minimum Wage and Overtime Act (Act 154). Act 138 is enforced by the Wage and Hour Program within the Technical Services Division of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). And we know No-One enforces like MIOSHA.

Act 138 applies to employers in Michigan that have two or more employees age 16 and older. A copy of Act 138, along with guidelines and the required poster may be downloaded from the Wage and Hour Program website.

Dates of Minimum Wage Rate Increases

The current minimum wage is $7.40. The rate increases as follows:

• September 1, 2014 – $8.15
• January 1, 2016 – $8.50
• January 1, 2017 – $8.90
• January 1, 2018 – $9.25

Youth Training Wage

Act 138 allows an employer to pay a newly hired employee age 16 to 19 $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of employment. Then they can be fired (summer jobs will only last so long anyhow.) as Michigan remains an ‘at-will’ state.

85% Minimum Wage

Act 138 also allows an employer in Michigan to pay 85 percent of the minimum wage to employees aged 16 and 17; however, note that the current Federal Minimum Wage rate is $7.25 per hour. Employers that are covered by both State and Federal Minimum Wage law are stuck paying the higher applicable rate. Information on Federal Minimum Wage can be obtained by calling the United States Department of Labor at 866-487-9243.

*per Federal Minimum Wage Rate

Tipped Employees

Act 138 allows employers to take a tip credit on minimum wage under certain conditions for those employees who customarily and regularly receive tips. No worries about all of this, because your employees will tell you what you should be payting them, and all cash they receive will now be hidden even better than before.

The following conditions apply to taking a tip credit on the state minimum wage rate:

• The employee is in a position which customarily and regularly receives gratuities from a guest, patron, or customer for services rendered to that guest, patron, or customer.
• If the gratuities plus the minimum hourly wage rate do not equal or exceed the minimum hourly wage otherwise established, the employer pays any shortfall to the employee.
• The gratuities are proven gratuities as indicated by the employee’s declaration for Federal Insurance Contribution Act.
• The employee was informed by the employer of the provisions of Act 138.
• If a credit is taken for gratuities received by an employee, then the employment records for each pay period shall contain the credit that was taken along with a written statement of the amount of gratuities received by the employee. The statement shall be signed by the employee and dated before the date the paycheck was received.

The minimum hourly rate of pay for a worker subject to tip credit provisions is:

Now that wasn’t too difficult was it?

Overtime Requirements

Employees covered by the overtime provisions of the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act must be paid one and a half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked exceeding 40 hours in a workweek. Of course almost no one is working that many hours anymore since the ACA has forced employers into less than 30 hour scheduling efforts.

Some positions are considered exempt from overtime requirements. For a complete list of those positions you can visit the program website.

For more information call the Wage and Hour Program toll free at 855-464-9243 or visit the program website at www.michigan.gov/MinimumWageAct. If you don’t, your employees will.

Trust me.

And don’t forget, “Progressivism is merely soft core porn for communists.”