Judge strikes 2018 GOP effort to attack minimum wage hike

An effort by Republicans in the Michigan Legislature to weaken minimum wage and sick leave laws has been declared unconstitutional. A judge threw out changes made late in 2018 as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder was near the end of his term and Democrats were preparing to take over top statewide posts. Advocates had turned in enough signatures to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 and eliminate a lower tipped wage in the restaurant industry. The Legislature adopted it in 2018 instead of letting voters have a say, which was a possible step. But lawmakers then returned a few months later and watered it down by a simple majority vote. Judge Douglas Shapiro says lawmakers thwarted the will of the people.