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State’s new minimum wage and earned sick time laws start

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   Michigan’s new minimum wage and earned sick time laws took effect Friday.

But the laws are facing challenges.

Lawmakers adopted the ballot measures before they could go to voters – and then changed them in the “lame duck” legislative session before they got signed into law.

Advocates who backed the original proposals say that was illegal. The Michigan Supreme Court and Attorney General Dana Nessel could weigh in on the issue.

Wendy Block is with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. She says members are flooding their office with questions about how to make sure they’re following the law.

“I think there’s this twinge of doubt. Like I’ve done all this work to get my policy in compliance with the law and this could all change.”

Block says they hope that if at any point there’s an opinion that changes the laws, employers will have time to comply.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R