A ballot proposal seeking to raise Michigan’s hourly minimum wage to $15 over several years will appear on the ballot in 2024 after petition signatures were certified, those behind the initiative announced this week.

Hundreds of thousands of signatures were submitted Tuesday to the Michigan Secretary of State’s office for a minimum wage ballot measure seeking to land itself in front of Michigan voters in 2024.

The American Dream relies on the idea that anyone in the U.S. has the opportunity to become prosperous and climb the social ladder if they just work hard enough.But is that true for all working people?

Employees making minimum wage in Michigan will get a slight raise in 2022.

With so many businesses struggling amid the worker shortage, many are asking when -- and if -- this crisis will ever end.

With so many businesses struggling amid the worker shortage, many are asking when -- and if -- this crisis will ever end.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced the reinstatement of higher “prevailing” wages for workers involved in state construction projects.

Have you been to one of your favorite restaurants lately and noticed a burned-out, understaffed group of workers? They’re not alone.

This table shows minimum wage per state and territory in the United States.

This table shows minimum wage per state and territory in the United States.

With the current shortage in labor, businesses are trying to bring workers in with wages that start at $15-17 per hour, with added bonuses and perks.

With COVID-19 restrictions expiring Tuesday in Michigan, businesses are feeling the crunch to hire more workers.

DETROIT – The battle over the minimum wage heated up Friday. A Fight for $15 rally took place at a McDonald’s near the intersection of Livernois Avenue and West McNichols Road on Detroit’s west side. They want the minimum wage to increase to $15 an hour. Demonstrators want the incoming Joe Biden administration to raise the federal minimum wage within Biden’s first 100 days of taking office. The federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since July 2009.

A new study on the Michigan economy shows that while jobs are available, they do not pay enough to make ends meet, and the coronavirus pandemic is making it worse. Michigan Future Founder Lou Glazer puts a good paying job at $20 an hour and he cites research claiming 60% of Michigan jobs pay less than that. “At the point where construction companies don’t have enough carpenters, you would think the wages for carpenters would go up,” he said. “They’re more likely to lose their jobs and then if they lose the job, they’re less likely that job will come back anytime soon,” he said. At the Detroit Economic Club, University of Michigan economist Gabriel Erlich believes people are going to see a two-tiered COVID recession and recovery.

DETROIT After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division, the City of Highland Park has paid $49,181 in back wages to four current employees for violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD investigators determined the city violated FLSA overtime provisions after it failed to combine the hours worked by some employees who worked in both fire protection and law enforcement activities. This practice resulted in violations when those employees worked overtime hours, but because the employer did not add together time spent in both tasks, the city failed to recognize and pay the overtime. Employers must understand the laws that apply to their employees, and ensure that workers are paid all the wages they have legally earned, said Wage and Hour Division District Director, Timolin Mitchell. The outcome of this investigation should remind other municipalities and employers to review their pay practices to ensure they comply with the law.

The contractors practice of paying less than the required prevailing rates violated the Davis Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The prevailing wage rate for laborers is less than the required rate for carpenters, so paying the lower rate violated the law. Investigators also found a drywall subcontractor on the project, The Drywall King LLC of Waterford violated the DBRA by failing to pay the required prevailing wage rates and benefits to drywall workers. When those flat rates failed to cover the hours employees worked at the required rates, violations occurred. Contractors working on federally funded jobs receive detailed agreements that include prevailing wage and fringe benefits rates they are required to pay their workers.