The Michigan Court of Claims upheld a 2018 decision by the Michigan Legislature to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law, dismissing claims by the union-led group Protecting Michigan Workers.
Repeal was achieved last year through a “public act,” with Protecting Michigan Taxpayers (led by Associated Builders and Contractor Michigan) obtaining more than 350,000 signatures to mandate that the legislature vote up or down on the issue in both chambers, without the typical requirement for a signature by then-Gov. Rick Snyder (R) once passed.
Opponents to repeal attempted to make legal arguments based on unconstitutionality, claiming that the enactment of a $75,000 appropriation resulting from the repeal and the law’s immediate effectiveness rendered the repeal effort invalid. But the judge disagreed, ruling that “the Legislature has made appropriations by way of public acts” for decades.
With this ruling, Michigan secures its status as the 24th state without prevailing wage policies.
