Michigan labor laws set a $13.73 minimum wage for 2026, require overtime after 40 hours in a week, guarantee paid sick time at every employer in the state, and protect workers from discrimination on grounds broader than federal law covers. Several of these rules changed significantly between 2023 and 2025, so what applied two years ago may not apply to your situation now. When state and federal rules overlap, the one more favorable to you usually controls.
Minimum Wage and Tipped Pay
The standard minimum wage in Michigan is $13.73 per hour as of January 1, 2026, and it is scheduled to rise to $15.00 on January 1, 2027.1State of Michigan. Minimum Wage and Overtime That floor applies whether or not your employer is also covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, because the state rate sits well above the federal $7.25.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 408.420
Tipped workers have a separate base rate. For 2026, employers may pay tipped employees 40% of the full minimum, roughly $5.49 per hour. If your tips plus that base don’t reach $13.73 for every hour you worked, your employer has to make up the difference.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – 2025 PA 1 The tipped percentage is on a scheduled climb and reaches 50% of the general minimum wage by 2031.4Michigan Legislature. House Legislative Analysis – Senate Bill 8
Overtime Pay
Hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek must be paid at one-and-a-half times your regular rate.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Act 337 of 2018, Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act A workweek is any fixed seven-day period, and your employer cannot average hours across two weeks to avoid the overtime trigger. At the 2026 minimum wage, that works out to at least $20.60 per hour of overtime.
Some salaried workers are exempt. Under the FLSA, employees in executive, administrative, or professional roles don’t qualify for overtime if they earn a salary of at least $684 per week ($35,568 annually) and their job duties meet a specific test.6U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions A 2024 federal attempt to raise that threshold was struck down in court, so the $684 figure is still what applies.
Paid Sick Time Under the Earned Sick Time Act
The restored Earned Sick Time Act took effect on February 21, 2025, and it covers every employer in Michigan, not just those with 50 or more workers as under earlier versions of the law.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 408.963
You accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. How much you can use in a year depends on your employer’s size:
- At a small business with 10 or fewer employees, you can use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year.
- At a larger employer with 11 or more employees, the annual cap is 72 hours.
Employers can skip the accrual tracking by front-loading the full annual amount at the start of the year. Unused hours carry over, though the annual usage caps still apply, and a new hire can be required to wait up to 120 days before using accrued time.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 408.963
You can use the time for your own illness or medical appointments, to care for a sick family member, or for absences related to domestic violence or sexual assault.
Job-Protected Leave Under the FMLA
Earned sick time is paid but limited in amount. For longer absences, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for a serious health condition, the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.8U.S. Department of Labor. The Family and Medical Leave Act To qualify, you need 12 months with your employer, at least 1,250 hours worked in the previous year, and a worksite where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Public agencies and schools are covered regardless of headcount. Your Michigan paid sick time runs concurrently with FMLA leave when both apply, so accrued hours can keep you partially paid during the absence.
At-Will Employment and When Firing Is Illegal
Michigan is an at-will state. You or your employer can end the relationship at any time, for any lawful reason or no reason, without a contract required for that default.
The limits matter. Courts recognize wrongful discharge when a firing violates clear public policy: you cannot legally be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim, refusing to break the law on your employer’s behalf, serving on a jury, or reporting illegal conduct by your employer.9Legal Information Institute. Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy Discrimination-based firings have their own, separate protections, covered below.
Union Membership and Dues
Michigan repealed its right-to-work laws in 2023, and both the private-sector repeal (2023 PA 8) and the public-sector repeal (2023 PA 9) took effect on March 30, 2024.10State of Michigan. MI Repeal of FTW/RTW Unions can again negotiate contracts requiring everyone in a bargaining unit to pay dues or service fees as a condition of employment, which had been prohibited since the original 2012 right-to-work legislation.11Michigan Legislature. Repeal Private Sector Right-to-Work Law If you work in a unionized shop under a contract negotiated after that date, dues or fees may now be mandatory.
Discrimination and Harassment Protections
Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, or marital status.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 37.2202 That list reaches further than federal law, which covers race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information but does not explicitly include height or weight. Sexual orientation and gender identity were added to the Michigan statute by a 2023 amendment.
The state law separately protects employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or termination of a pregnancy, requiring that they be treated the same as any other worker with a similar ability or inability to work.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 37.2202
Federal protections enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission apply to employers with 15 or more employees.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sexual Harassment Harassment becomes illegal under federal law when it is severe or frequent enough to create a hostile work environment, or when it leads to an adverse employment decision like firing or demotion.
Workers Under 18
The Youth Employment Standards Act sets separate rules for anyone under 18 working in Michigan, and most minors need a work permit from their school district before starting a job.14Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Act 90 of 1978 – Youth Employment Standards Act When school is in session, 16- and 17-year-olds can work up to 24 hours per week. Outside the school year the cap rises to 48 hours per week and 10 hours in any single day.15Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Section 409.111 Younger minors face tighter limits.
Federal law also bars anyone under 18 from 17 categories of hazardous work, including explosives, mining, logging, operating forklifts, and running power-driven meatpacking or metalworking equipment.16U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the FLSA for Nonagricultural Occupations A 17-year-old working at a deli, for example, cannot legally run a commercial meat slicer.
Workplace Safety and Retaliation
Michigan runs its own safety program, MIOSHA, which handles inspections and enforcement for most private-sector and all public-sector workplaces in the state. The core protections match federal law. If you report a safety hazard or refuse work you reasonably believe poses an imminent danger, your employer cannot retaliate against you. Retaliation includes firing, demotion, cut hours, reassignment to less desirable work, intimidation, and blacklisting.17Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program Retaliation complaints under the federal OSH Act must be filed within 30 days of the retaliatory act, which is a short window compared with most other labor claims.
Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment
Most Michigan employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance. The requirement applies when a business regularly employs one or more workers for 35 or more hours per week for at least 13 weeks, or employs three or more workers at any one time, including part-timers. All public employers must carry coverage regardless of size, and the premium cannot be deducted from your wages.18State of Michigan. Employer Insurance Requirement Coverage pays for medical treatment and a portion of lost wages when you are injured on the job or develop a work-related illness.
If you lose your job through no fault of your own, you may qualify for unemployment benefits. You need to be able to work, available for full-time work, actively seeking suitable employment, and registered on MiTalent.org with a visit to a Michigan Works! service center.19State of Michigan. Eligibility Requirements The maximum weekly benefit is $530, and eligible workers can receive between 14 and 26 weeks of benefits depending on their wage history.
One boundary worth knowing: independent contractors are generally not covered by minimum wage laws, overtime rules, unemployment insurance, or workers’ compensation. The IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control, and the overall nature of the relationship to decide whether you are an employee or a contractor, and no single factor is decisive.20Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee If you believe you’ve been misclassified, that affects nearly every protection on this page.
How and When to File a Complaint
Where you file depends on the violation, and the deadlines are not uniform. For wage and sick-time matters, Michigan’s Wage and Hour Division handles complaints on these timelines:
- Minimum wage or overtime violations: three years from the date of the violation.
- Unpaid wages or fringe benefits: 12 months from the violation.
- Earned sick time violations: six months from the violation.
Those apply to administrative complaints with the state.21State of Michigan. Before Filing a Wage Claim You can also bring a civil lawsuit for unpaid minimum wages or overtime within three years and recover the unpaid amount plus an equal sum in liquidated damages, along with attorney fees.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – 2025 PA 1 Wage complaints can be filed online through the state’s website or mailed in on a downloadable form.22State of Michigan. Filing a Complaint for Non-payment of Wages or Fringe Benefits
For employment discrimination, federal law gives you 300 calendar days from the discriminatory act to file a charge with the EEOC when a state agency enforces a parallel law, which Michigan does through the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.23U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge For workplace safety retaliation, the OSH Act window is just 30 days.17Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program
Once a wage complaint is filed, an investigator reviews payroll records and contacts the employer. If a violation is confirmed, the department may facilitate a settlement or order payment of back wages plus damages. Miss the deadline and the state will reject the complaint regardless of its merits, which is why those filing windows matter more than any other single detail in this process.