From the Associated Press — The Republican-led Michigan Legislature has passed bills that would delay a minimum wage hike and scale back paid sick leave requirements. It is an unprecedented lame-duck strategy that was endorsed legally by the state’s conservative attorney general Tuesday despite criticism that it is unconstitutional. The fast-tracked legislation was pushed through on largely party-line votes.
Changes were made at the request of Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who stayed mum on whether he will sign the measures but whose involvement was seen positively by their supporters. To prevent minimum wage and paid sick time ballot initiatives from going to the
electorate last month, after which they would have been much harder to change if voters had passed them, GOP legislators — at the behest of business groups — preemptively approved them in September so that they could alter them after the election with simple majority votes in each chamber. Democrats say the maneuver is unconstitutional.
