New Year—New Rules

 2025 brings new laws for employers, schools, sellers and unemployed

    The confetti is vacuumed away, the streamers discarded and the silly Happy New Year hats a thing of the past. Following the celebrations, the reality of some new laws face consumers, schools and employers beginning this year.
    The new laws include a requirement at schools must meet CPR and AED requirements by the end of 2025. Last April, state lawmakers enacted a pair of bills that will require schools to have unlocked and easily accessible automated external defibrillators. In addition, there must be individuals in the building with current certifications for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of AEDs by the 2025-26 school year.
    Employers face new rules including a requirement that sick time is provided for all employees. Beginning in February, employees must earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours. worked.
    Businesses with 10 or more employees will have to allow workers to use up to 72 hours of paid sick leave if accrued. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will have to allow workers to use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave if accrued, and up to 32 hours of unpaid sick leave.
    Additionally, employers will see two minimum wage increases effective this year.
    The minimum wage increased to $10.56 an hour for adults and $8.98 an hour for minors on Jan. 1. The lower hourly rate paid to workers expected to make up the difference in tips, including servers and bartenders, jumped to $4.01. Under current law, the tipped minimum wage is 38 percent of the standard rate.
    Those rules will only be in place until Feb. 21. On that date, the hourly minimum wage will increase to $12.48 an hour for adults and $10.61 for minors. The tipped minimum wage will increase to $5.99 an hour.
    Benefits for unemployment in the state will increase to 26 weeks from the current 20 weeks.
    The change also will increase the maximum weekly benefit from $362 to $446 this year and then $614 in 2027. It’s the first increase in unemployment compensation since 2003.
    The legislators also approved a one-time income tax credit up to $10,000 off their state income taxes for live organ donations.

    And while eggs have been a contentious political news topic, consumers shopping at Michigan grocery stores will only be able to purchase eggs from “cage free” chickens.
    The law excludes producers with 3,000 or fewer chickens.