- A ruling from Michigan's Supreme Court is set to increase the state's minimum wage
- The wage increases are set to begin in February 2025
- Video shows restaurant owner reacting to the ruling and wondering what cuts she may have to consider
Tony M's Restaurant & Lodge survived COVID-19 and is now moving through inflation but it will now have to work through a minimum wage increase and a slow phase-out of tipped wages beginning February 21, 2025.
That move comes on the heels of a Wednesday morning ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court that deemed a process known as 'adopt-and-amend' unconstitutional.
The ruling revamps a 2018 ballot initiative to increase the state's minimum wage and paid sick time for millions of Michigan employees. Voters adopted the initiative in November 2018 but was later amended by a Republican-controlled legislature.
WATCH: MICHIGAN MINIMUM WAGE SET TO RISE ABOVE $12 PER HOUR AFTER STATE SUPREME COURT RULING
Tamara Farrell, owner of Tony M's, says her business is in jeopardy because of the ruling.
"It's going to make [prices] jump," Farrell said. "It's going to make it even harder to survive than in COVID."
Farrell has a roster of 24 employees that help bring Tony M's alive. Farrell now wonders what she'll have to cut from the menu and who she'll have to cut from her roster.
"Definitely going to have to slim it down," Farrell said. "I don't even know if that's going to help. I can't cut down to below 10 people."
Farrell's roster also includes servers who make tips, which under the court's ruling, will be phased out by 2029. Farrell says her servers, who make $3.93 an hour, are prone to taking home hundreds of dollars a night in tips.
The new ruling that eliminates tips by 2029 may cut into the workforce, according to Farrell.
"They're going to take a big hit. I don't know how they're going to survive," Farrell said. "I've had some servers say 'I'm not serving if I'm not getting tipped'."
Farrell also worries that wages local restaurants offer will fall short of employees going to other restaurants offering $15 an hour to start.
"We're already competing against that to get cooks," Farrell said. "You're going to have to raise your prices. [It] raises everything up."
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
For more news in your neighborhood, go to the In Your Neighborhood page on our website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
