Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy) voted in favor of House Bill 4002 just before midnight yesterday evening, sending the bill and its tie-barred Senate Bill 8 to the governor to be signed mere hours before government mandates on paid leave and wages were set to go into effect. Wortz expressed her disappointment in Senate Democrats for forcing a watered-down version of the bills but was glad House Republicans were able to spearhead a compromise to avoid disaster.

“While these bills are far from perfect, we have at least found a solution that will keep small business owners and the workers they employ afloat,” Wortz said. “House Republicans led the effort to pass a plan that fixes Michigan’s paid sick leave policies and give small businesses the flexibility they need to stay open.”

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last year that a previous Michigan Legislature’s changes to the state’s wage and paid leave laws were unconstitutional because they occurred the same year in which the laws were passed by ballot initiative. This ruling placed incredibly burdensome minimum wage and paid leave requirements on small businesses, even though neither voters nor their elected representatives supported the mandates.

“In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court decision last term, House Republicans got to work to save Michigan’s small businesses from these burdensome government mandates,” Wortz said. “While I’m relieved our colleagues across the aisle finally helped us put together a solid policy in the eleventh hour, I don’t understand why they retained so many of the court-mandated policies that neither the small business community nor voters at-large asked for.”