Much has been made of the declining auto industry and of course that’s hit Detroit and Michigan the hardest. However, Michigan is still a vibrant entrepreneurial business environment with legacy businesses and startups doing brisk business. Now whether or not your business relies on an assembly line, it is imperative for you to keep compliant on all the latest poster requirements for state and local employment and labor laws. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs enforces the Wage and Hour posters required by law.

It’s important to note that employers who post Public Act 138, of 2014, as amended, or WHD 9904 Requires Poster, General Requirements – Minimum Wage and Overtime, will be considered in compliance with the posting requirements of Section 7, being MCL 408.417. This may sound like a mouthful but really it just means that you’re posting the required poster available from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Wage and Hour Division.

Effective January 1,2018 the minimum hourly wage is $9.25 for untipped workers and $3.52 for tipped workers. A training wage of $4.25 per hour may be paid to employees 16 to 19 years of age for the first 90 days of employment. Also, if the employer meets certain conditions, employees may agree to receive compensatory time of 1-1/2 hours for each hour of overtime worked. The agreement must be voluntary, in writing, and obtained before the compensatory time is earned. Keep in mind that all compensatory time must be paid to the employee and accrued time may not exceed 240 hours. This is something you are required to keep records for.

Equal pay is also something the poster touches on as an employer shall not discriminate on the basis of sex by paying employees a rate which is less than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility performed under similar working conditions.