Michigan Labor Laws: A Complete Guide to Wages, Breaks, Overtime, and More (2026)

Employers in Michigan must provide their employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year to cover different situations, such as childbirth, illness, and military family circumstances. 

The Michigan Earned Sick Time Act took effect February 21, 2025 for large employers and October 1, 2025 for small employers. All Michigan ESTA employers — regardless of size — must now comply.

Employees earn 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

Large employers (11 or more employees): employees may accrue and use up to 72 hours of paid sick time per year.

Small employers (10 or fewer): employees may use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year. The mandate for an additional 32 hours of unpaid time was removed from the final enacted law.

Carryover: all unused sick time carries over year to year. Large employers may still cap annual usage at 72 hours regardless of accrued balance.

Frontloading: employers may front-load the full annual allotment instead of tracking hourly accrual. Frontloading employers do not need to permit carryover.

Permitted uses

• Employee’s own illness, injury, or medical appointment
• Care for a family member’s illness or medical appointment
• Situations involving domestic violence or sexual assault (employee or family member)
• School or childcare meetings related to a child’s health condition

ESTA exclusions

Federal employees, unpaid trainees, unpaid interns, and employees under active collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) are excluded from ESTA. CBA-covered employees become eligible when their agreement expires. Employees who set their own schedules without minimum hour requirements are also excluded.

For construction employers: if you manage union and non-union crews on the same jobs, union workers under an active CBA are not yet covered. ESTA kicks in the moment that agreement expires.

Employers in Michigan are not required to provide vacation leaves. However, they may follow their own established policies and provide them to qualified employees if they decide to. 

The number of vacation leaves may also be capped by employers, provided employees are notified in writing. 

Michigan law prohibits employers from firing or penalizing workers for engaging in military duties. They must also accommodate military leave in their employment agreements.

The law doesn’t require employers to compensate employees for time spent in jury summons. However, they cannot fire or penalize employees for performing their civic duty.

Employers cannot take action on an employee who is a crime victim and attends judicial proceedings related to the crime.

Employers cannot penalize employees for taking leave to respond to an emergency or serve their civil air patrol duties.

Michigan cities and municipalities do not set their own minimum wage rates. The $13.73 state standard applies statewide. The February 2025 jump from $10.33 to $12.48 reflected a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that restored the original 2018 voter initiative before SB 8 amended it.

The 2026 minimum wage for 16- and 17-year-old employees is $11.67 per hour. That equals 85% of the $13.73 standard rate.

The training wage remains $4.25 per hour. It applies to employees under age 20 during their first 90 calendar days. On day 91, the employer must pay the full standard minimum wage.

The following workers may be paid below the standard minimum under state or federal law:

• Learners and apprentices in certain industries
• Freelancers and independent contractors
• Farm and agricultural workers
• Employees with disabilities under a special minimum wage certificate
• FLSA-exempt employees (executives, administrators, and professionals)
• Employees under age 20 during their first 90 days (training wage: $4.25/hr)

Michigan is an at-will state. This means employees can quit their jobs as they please, and employers can fire employees as they wish, provided they don’t contravene discrimination laws.

As an at-will state, Michigan doesn’t require employees to give their employers notice of resignation. The same goes for employers when terminating employees. However, doing so is considered courteous and allows each party to prepare adequately for the change in circumstances.

Michigan is no longer a right to work state. The repeal took effect February 13, 2024. Employers and unions may now require union membership as a condition of employment.

Construction context: employees covered by active collective bargaining agreements are excluded from ESTA sick leave requirements until their CBA expires. When it expires, ESTA kicks in automatically. Factor CBA expiration dates into your leave policy updates before they lapse.

The state will hold employers liable for knowingly hiring unfit employees. Therefore, employers must exercise reasonable care during hiring to ensure only qualified and responsible candidates get the job.

Essentially, employers must conduct comprehensive background checks, especially for positions that pose a risk to public safety. The state will hold you accountable when your employee harms the public or destroys private property.

There is no statute in Michigan requiring workplace drug testing for private companies. As such, employers can conduct drug tests as they wish, provided they don’t breach any discrimination laws.

This means employers can conduct drug tests as a condition for employment during the job application stage. After hiring, employers can conduct up to six unscheduled drug and alcohol tests annually. You can run into legal trouble if your drug tests:

• Discriminate against employees taking specific medication for their ailments or disabilities;
• Single out a particular group of employees based on race, gender, or age;
• Go against an employee’s right to privacy; or
• If you publish a false positive result that defames an employee

Michigan has Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) protections that are both federally mandated and reinforced by state-specific laws.