NFIB Testifies Before Senate Labor Committee Against Bill Allowing Local Governments to Enact Their Own Minimum Wage

June 21, 2023

NFIB Testifies Before Senate Labor Committee Against Bill Allowing Local Governments to Enact Their Own Minimum Wage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LANSING, MI (June 21, 2023) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, argued against passage of Senate Bill 171, which would repeal the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act, during a Senate Labor Committee hearing today. In her testimony, State Director Amanda Fisher told senators that repealing the act, which prohibits a local unit of government from requiring an employer to provide employee benefits (paid or unpaid) that are not required by federal or state law, would overburden small businesses in particular as they attempted to decipher differing laws in each location. “By repealing this act, Michigan could become a patchwork of different wage and benefit regulations across the state, severely hindering its ability to attract and retain new businesses,” said Fisher. “Given how much money and time this legislature and administration have focused on economic development, this is an ill-considered piece of legislation. Economic development dollars can only go so far in overcoming a poor regulatory and labor environment.” Unlike larger businesses, small business owners do not have the extra time or capital in order to absorb additional regulatory burdens. At a certain point, small business owners cannot afford the myriad of increased costs and will make decisions including loss of jobs or the business itself. Fisher pointed out that this bill would also severely restrict the flexibility that remote work has given many employees since the pandemic: “If an employer has to track the laws governing each locality where their employees reside, big or small, that employer will be forced to limit remote work in order to be sure they are complying with both state and local laws.” “It is important to note that this policy is not about whether there should be an increase in paid sick leave, minimum wage, etc.,” concluded Fisher. “This legislation is about what governmental body should make those decisions for the people of Michigan. Small business believes that local governments have enough challenges providing the basic services that their citizens want and deserve. It is unnecessary for them to expand into policy areas that are more efficiently and appropriately the jurisdiction of the state and/or federal government.”

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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

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State:

Michigan

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