The number one issue that NFIB will be pursuing will be needed changes to Paid Sick Leave and Minimum Wage
The “Lame Duck” legislative session refers to the remainder of the current session held after the election, but before newly elected lawmakers will take office next year. These sessions tend to be unpredictable as many House and Senate lawmakers will not be returning to office because they have lost their election, or they are term limited. Add to that dynamic the 2018 election outcomes which will change party control of the governor’s office next year, (See Related Article) and you have a general idea of the potential for a compressed and hectic session.
The number one issue that NFIB will be pursuing in the remaining weeks of the 2018 Lame Duck session will be needed changes to the Paid Sick Leave and Minimum Wage ballot initiatives that are now law. These proposals were written by liberal out of state groups as a gimmick to drive voter turnout for their candidates in Michigan’s elections with no input from Michigan workers, lawmakers, job providers, or state agencies. These groups claim it was for the benefit of workers, but it was written so poorly that it will have the opposite effect. At the urging of NFIB and others, state lawmakers from both parties rightfully foiled the attempt by these outside groups by voting to pull their sloppy proposal off the statewide ballot.
Now they must finish the job by fixing this shoddily drafted joke of a law into something practical that will work for all Michigan employees and job providers. We will be urging lawmakers to listen to the hundreds of thousands of job providers in this state, and the majority of workers that already have good paid leave benefits that don’t want them cut, and fix these new laws in the remaining weeks of session.
NFIB will also be keeping an eye on several other bills harmful to small business that could see action in the Lame Duck session. Included on the list are bills that would create a local “rain tax”, raise solid waste tipping fees, and hold small business responsible for the cost of credit card fraud – just to name a few!
