Minimum Wage
Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates.
As of 2024, the minimum wage is $10.33 per hour for most employees.
Minors - 85% of the minimum wage, or $8.78 per hour
Starting January 1st, 2025, the minimum wage will be $10.56 for most employees.
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Tipped Minimum Wage
Tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate employers are legally obligated to pay employees who earn a significant portion of their income through tips.
As of 2024, the tipped minimum wage is $38% of $10.33 (3.93 an hour) but most tipped employees are guaranteed to make the full minimum wage when tips are added.
Effective January 1st, 2025 until February 20th, 2025, tipped employees must report an average of $10.61 per hour in tips.
Learn more about effective tipped minimum wages past 2/20/25 here.
Overtime Laws
In Michigan, overtime law states that non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours per workweek are entitled to overtime pay. Most employees receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular pay for all hours worked beyond 40 hours within a workweek.
Meal and Rest Break
Michigan wage and hour laws generally require that employees provide a 30-minute break to nonexempt employees who are under the age of 18 if they work more than 5 hours continuously.
Other than that, employers are not required to provide breaks to adult employees but must relieve them of duties if they choose to offer unpaid breaks.
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Leave and Holidays
Vacation leave
Michigan law does not require vacation days or private-sector employers to offer paid vacation leave to their employees. However, employers can choose to provide paid or unpaid vacation leave.
Paid Sick Leave
As of February 20, 2023, The Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) states that employees can accrue one hour of paid time for every 30 hours they work. This can accumulate to 72 hours per year. If an employer has less than ten employees, the cap accrual would be 40 hours per year, and must offer 32 hours of unpaid leave.
Holidays
Michigan law does not require holiday leave or private-sector employers to offer paid vacation leave to their employees. However, employers can choose to provide paid or unpaid vacation leave. Many employers offer time off for observed holidays.
Michigan Observed holidays:
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
President’s Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
General Election Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day and the day after
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve
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Child Labor Laws
Under Michigan law, minors are generally prohibited to work more than 10 hours a day, with a weekly average of 8 hours per day. They cannot work more than six days a week.
Laws for minors who are 14-15 years old:
If work and school hours exceed 48 hours in a workweek, they cannot work more than that.
Cannot work before 7 AM or after 9 PM.
Laws for minors who are 16-17 years old:
Cannot work more than 24 hours per week when school is in session
Cannot work more than 48 hours per week when school is not in session
Cannot work before 6 AM or after 10:30 PM on Sunday through Thursday
Cannot work after 11:30 PM on Friday and Saturday when school is in session
Cannot work after 11:30 PM for all days of the week when school is not in session
Exceptions to work outside of starting and ending times are stated under the Youth Employment Standards Act (YESA).
Hiring and Firing
Hiring
Candidates in Michigan have the right to equal employment opportunity. Their religion, race, color, national origin, genetic information, age, sex, marital status, height, weight, arrest record, or disability should not be factored into hiring decisions.
All jobs must be open to both men and women. The only exception is if the employer proves that gender is a bona fide occupational qualification.
Firing
Michigan employers have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason or no reason at all, as long as the reason is not discriminatory and not considered retaliation.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this publication is for general informational purposes only. Deputy makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, with respect to the software or the information contained in this publication. While, Deputy’s software is designed to simplify shift work by assisting with hiring, onboarding, scheduling, time and attendance tracking, payroll integration, and wage and hour compliance, it is not a substitute for payroll or legal advice, nor is it intended to relieve you of your obligation to comply with the legal requirements applicable to your business. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that your use of Deputy complies with all applicable laws and regulations. Please review our Product Specific Terms for more information about your compliance responsibilities.
