Minimum Wage
MCL 408.934 — $13.73 an hour from January 1, 2026 and $15.00 from January 1, 2027, then raised with inflation
| Beginning | The minimum hourly wage |
|---|---|
| BeginningFebruary 21, 2025 | The minimum hourly wage$12.48 |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2026 | The minimum hourly wage$13.73 |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2027 | The minimum hourly wage$15.00 |
Every October beginning in October 2027, the state treasurer calculates an adjusted rate that raises the minimum wage by the 12-month increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for the midwest region, publishes it by November 1, and the new rate takes effect on January 1 of the next year. The increase does not take effect if the state's unemployment rate was 8.5% or greater for the year before.
The act covers an employer with 2 or more employees at any 1 time within a calendar year, and an employee at least 16 years of age.
Employees who receive tips. A lower rate applies to an employee who receives tips only if the tips equal or exceed the difference between the two rates, the employee declares them under the federal insurance contributions act, the employee keeps all of them, and the employer explained the rule in writing at or before hire and the employee gave written consent. An employee may still share tips voluntarily with another employee in the chain of service whose duties are not primarily managerial or supervisory.
| Beginning | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage |
|---|---|
| BeginningFebruary 21, 2025 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage38% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2026 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage40% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2027 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage42% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2028 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage44% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2029 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage46% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2030 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage48% |
| BeginningJanuary 1, 2031 | The tipped rate, as a share of the minimum wage50% |
Tips remain the property of the employee who receives them, whichever rate the employer pays, and tips and service charges are in addition to wages and do not count toward them. An employer gives employees and customers written notice of its plan to distribute service charges, and keeps records showing compliance for at least 3 years after an employee's last pay period.
An employee under 18 is paid at least 85% of the general minimum wage. A new employee under 20 may be paid a training wage of $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days. An employer may not let an employee go, or cut an employee's hours, wages or benefits, to hire someone at either of those rates, and doing so carries a civil fine up to $1,000.
The state may set a scale of lower rates for apprentices, learners, and people with physical or mental disabilities who are clearly unable to meet normal production standards. Overtime, and the employees the act leaves out, are not covered here.
Sources for this section (5)
- MCL 408.934 — The minimum hourly wage rate
- MCL 408.934d — The minimum wage for employees who receive tips
- MCL 408.934b — The training wage, and the rate for employees under 18
- MCL 408.934c — Rates for apprentices, learners and persons with disabilities
- MCL 408.932 — Wage act definitions, including employer and employee
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.