The Republican-led Michigan House voted 69-40 Wednesday to approve a measure to scale back an increase in the state’s minimum wage for tipped workers that’s set to take effect Friday.

The bill, which passed the Republican-led House with Democratic support, is tie-barred to separate legislation seeking to scale back changes to a paid sick leave policy that also is set to take effect Friday. The paid sick leave bill remains a subject of negotiations between the House Republican majority and Senate Democratic majority.

Under the Michigan Supreme Court ruling set to go into effect Friday, the current minimum pay requirement for tipped workers of 38% of the standard minimum hourly wage was to jump to 100% of the standard in 2030. The new bill would move the threshold to a cap of 50% in 2031.

The bill would gradually increase the standard minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2027. Under the policy put in place by the Michigan Supreme Court, it would go to $14.97 in 2028. Under both the court ruling and the bill, the traditional minimum wage will go from $10.56 per hour to $12.48 on Feb. 21.

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said he was hopeful to reach a deal with Senate Democrats on the paid sick leave legislation, House Bill 4002, late Thursday.

“I’m trying to work in the middle in order to represent workers because what I want is for workers in Michigan to have paid sick time off, Hall told reporters. “But I also want them to have jobs. And we want restaurants to remain open and we want restaurant workers to make a good living, good wages.”

House Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, acknowledged his caucus was not united in its position on potential changes to the tipped minimum wage and mandatory paid sick leave for all workers.

“There are a lot of perspectives that make up our caucus,” Puri said, arguing it reflected the diversity of the state. “There are opinions kind of all over the place on this issue. That’s really where our caucus is at too.”

One Fair Wage, the group that spearheaded the 2018 tipped wage ballot initiative at issue in the legislation, has said it is contemplating a referendum if the Legislature scales back the proposal and has warned lawmakers against making changes. Organized labor groups also have warned against changes to the policy, which was altered by the Republican-led Legislature in 2018 only to be ordered to take full effect by the Michigan Supreme Court in July 2024.

The measure passed the Senate last week in a vote of 20-12, with minority Republicans helping get the legislation across the finish line. But it’s not clear whether the bill has the two-thirds majority support needed in the Senate for immediate effect; without immediate effect, the bill wouldn’t go into effect until 90 days after the end of session, in 2026.

Two Senate Republicans, Sens. Jon Bumstead of North Muskegon and Jim Runestad of White Lake, voted in opposition to the bill last week.

Both didn’t rule out voting in favor of giving the bill immediate effect in interviews Wednesday.

Runestad said he wanted to see what the final language was in the minimum wage and sick leave measures.

“I’ll take a strong look at it,” Runestad said of supporting immediate effect.

Runestad said he opposed the bill last week because of how quickly it increases the minimum wage. Runestad also noted the bill included language that allowed for a civil fine of $2,500 against businesses that didn’t pay the new tipped minimum wage.

Bumstead said he didn’t know whether he would support immediate effect for the minimum wage bill. Bumstead said he saw the proposal as “too much government.”

A third Senate Republican, Sen. Ruth Johnson of Holly, was not present for the start of session Wednesday. Johnson is recovering from a back surgery and would be available “if she is absolutely needed for a vote,” said Garrett Wheat, her chief of staff.

The tipped wage legislation is tie-barred to a separate paid sick leave bill still under negotiation, which means it cannot go into effect unless the paid sick leave legislation also is passed and signed.

Hall told media Wednesday afternoon that he was hopeful a deal could still be reached by late Thursday, but he warned the caucus may need to “reach more across the aisle.”

If a deal isn’t reached, Hall warned, Democrats unwilling to resist union pressure were to blame.

“If we don’t get a deal by Friday, people will blame the Democrats,” Hall said.

Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, acknowledged there is “still work to be done.”

“I am pleased that my colleagues and I have reached a bipartisan agreement on the tip credit issue with the Senate. The 50% tip credit is a solution that allows workers to have growth in income to help bring more money to their families, while still protecting our local businesses,” he said.

“We still need to find a common ground for the earned sick time issue. The paid sick time requirements would be detrimental to business owners across the state, making it difficult for them to operate properly. Businesses can’t function correctly if employees are allowed to not show up to work without any repercussions. I hope my colleagues in the Senate agree to our practical solution before Friday’s deadline.”

— MediaNews Group staff contributed to this report.