State labor lawRead at source, 24 September 2026

Michigan Labor Laws for Employers (2026): Breaks, Overtime, Sick Time and Hiring

Michigan has no break requirement for adults, but workers under 18 need a 30-minute break after 5 hours. Overtime is time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily rule. Final pay is due on the regularly scheduled payday for the period in which the employee quits or is fired. The Earned Sick Time Act requires 1 hour of paid sick time per 30 hours worked, and every worker under 18 needs a work permit, issued through a state online system from October 2026. The minimum wage, $13.73 now and $15.00 from January 1, 2027, has its own Michigan minimum wage page.

Michigan employment law at a glance

Michigan sets its own minimum wage, overtime rule and paid sick leave law, so a Michigan employer has more state rules to follow than one in a federal-baseline state. It also blocks cities and counties from adding their own wage, leave and scheduling rules, so the state rules are the whole answer. Here is the summary.

Michigan break laws

Michigan does not require breaks for adults. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) says: "There are no requirements for breaks, meal or rest periods for employees 18 years of age or older" (LEO break FAQ). That matches our meal break laws by state table, which lists Michigan with the states that have no adult meal-period rule.

Minors are different. Under the Youth Employment Standards Act, "a minor shall not be employed for more than 5 hours continuously without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a meal and rest period" (MCL 409.112, quoted on LEO's youth employment poster). LEO adds that the break must be documented and uninterrupted, and that daily time records should show the start and end of the shift and the 30-minute break. A 17-year-old on a six-hour shift needs that break on the record.

For adults, federal rules still govern any break you choose to give. Rest periods of about 5 to 20 minutes "must be counted as hours worked" under 29 CFR 785.18. A meal period can be unpaid only if the employee is fully relieved of duty. For nursing employees, the federal PUMP Act requires reasonable break time and a private space, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk for up to one year after the child's birth. We did not find a separate Michigan statute adding to that rule, so treat the federal requirement as the baseline.

Michigan overtime laws

Michigan's Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act has its own overtime rule. Employees covered by the Act "must be paid 1-1/2 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek" (LEO minimum wage poster). The Act covers employers with 2 or more employees, and its minimum wage covers employees 16 and older (LEO minimum wage and overtime FAQ).

• No daily overtime. Hours over 8 in a day are straight time unless the week passes 40.
• Exempt salary level. LEO's FAQ gives the white-collar exemption salary as $684 a week ($35,568 a year), the same figure as the federal level in 29 CFR 541.600. Duties tests still apply.
• Workweek, not pay period. Overtime is counted in a fixed seven-day workweek. A 36-hour week and a 44-hour week in the same biweekly pay period still produce four overtime hours, not zero.
• Mandatory overtime. Michigan has no general limit on requiring overtime for hourly workers. See overtime laws by state for the states with daily rules and nurse-specific limits.

Paying employees in Michigan

Minimum wage

Michigan's minimum wage is $13.73 an hour, effective January 1, 2026, and it rises to $15.00 on January 1, 2027 (LEO). The tipped cash wage is $5.49 (40% of the minimum) in 2026 and $6.30 in 2027, and the employer must make up any shortfall if tips plus wages fall below the full minimum. Minors under 18 may be paid 85% of the minimum ($11.67 in 2026), and a $4.25 training wage may be paid to employees under 20 for their first 90 calendar days (LEO announcement; LEO rate schedule). The rates, tipped schedule and exceptions are on our Michigan minimum wage page.

Pay frequency and pay statements

Under the Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act (Public Act 390 of 1978), employees must receive wages on a regular basis: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly, with hand harvesters paid at least weekly unless a written contract says otherwise. Each payment needs a "retainable pay statement" showing hours worked, gross wages, an itemization of deductions and the dates the wages were earned (LEO Act 390 brochure). Deductions need to be required by law, a collective bargaining agreement, or the employee's signed written authorization. The pay frequency laws by state page compares other states.

Final paychecks

Michigan uses one rule whether the employee quits or is fired: "An employer shall pay to an employee voluntarily leaving employment or one who is discharged all wages earned and due, on the regularly scheduled payday for the period in which the termination occurs" (MCL 408.475, quoted by LEO). Hand harvesters must be paid within 1 working day. Fringe benefits such as vacation pay are owed at separation only as your written policy or contract provides; see PTO payout laws by state and our final paycheck laws by state table.

Michigan hiring laws

Before a new hire's first shift in Michigan, the state-specific steps are the work permit for anyone under 18 and the new-hire report. Most of the rest is federal.

• Pay transparency. Michigan has no state law requiring a pay range in job postings, and no statewide salary-history ban. See pay transparency laws by state.
• Background checks and ban the box. There is no ban-the-box statute for private employers, and the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act (MCL 123.1381 to 123.1396) bars local governments from regulating the information an employer requests on an application or in an interview. Federal FCRA rules apply to background-check reports. See ban-the-box laws by state.
• E-Verify. No state requirement for private employers. See E-Verify requirements by state.
• Form I-9. Required for every hire under federal law. See Form I-9 requirements.
• New-hire reporting. "Reports must be submitted within 20 days of hire date (i.e., the date services are first performed for pay)" to the Michigan New Hire Operations Center (Michigan Form 3281).
• Minors and work permits. "Minors under the age of 18 are required to have a work permit prior to starting work." Schools have issued them until now. LEO says that "effective Oct. 2, 2026, all youth work permits in Michigan must be obtained exclusively through the State of Michigan's centralized work permit system," run by its Wage and Hour Division (LEO youth employment page). Keep permits on file for every minor. Hours limits are tighter under 16, and a minor may not handle cash at a fixed location after sunset or 8 p.m., whichever is earlier, unless someone 18 or older is present (MCL 409.112a). See child labor laws by state.

Paid leave in Michigan

Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA, Public Act 338 of 2018, as amended) took effect on February 21, 2025, and for small businesses on October 1, 2025 (LEO ESTA page; LEO ESTA FAQ). The main terms:

• Accrual: 1 hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked.
• Annual use cap: 72 hours a year for most employers; 40 hours of paid time for a small business (10 or fewer employees), unless the employer allows more.
• Frontloading: an employer may frontload at least 72 hours (40 for a small business) at the start of the benefit year instead of tracking accrual.
• New hires: an employer using the accrual method may make an employee hired on or after February 21, 2025 wait until the 120th calendar day of employment before using accrued time.
• New small businesses: a small business that did not employ anyone on or before February 21, 2022 does not have to comply until three years after it first employs someone.

Michigan has no paid family leave insurance program. Job-protected family and medical leave comes from the federal FMLA for employers with 50 or more employees. Because the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act bars local governments from requiring paid or unpaid leave, there is no city sick leave ordinance on top of ESTA.

Posters and records

LEO lists the posters Michigan employers must display, including the minimum wage and overtime poster, the ESTA poster and the youth employment poster if you employ minors, on its posting requirements page. Our labor law posters by state page links every state's source. Keep time records that show the 30-minute break for any employee under 18, and keep ESTA accrual and use records.

Local ordinances and preemption in Michigan

Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor cannot set their own minimum wage, paid leave or scheduling rules for private employers. The Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act prohibits local governments from requiring a wage higher than the state minimum, requiring paid or unpaid leave, regulating the hours and scheduling an employer provides, or regulating what an employer asks on an application or in an interview. Local governments can still set terms for their own employees. For a private employer, the state rules above apply everywhere in Michigan; see predictive scheduling laws by state for where local scheduling laws do exist.

What this means when you're hiring hourly workers in Michigan

The dates matter more than usual in Michigan this year. The minimum wage moves from $13.73 to $15.00 on January 1, 2027, which is roughly three months away, so a $14.00 rate advertised today will be below the legal minimum in January. If you are advertising roles now that will still be staffed next year, price the ad from the 2027 floor. Put the rate, the shift and the location in the first line; our guide to job ad copywriting shows how.

If you hire teenagers, check how LEO's new permit system works before your fall and holiday hiring, because a school-issued permit will no longer be the route in October. And budget ESTA accrual into the cost of every hourly hire, including part-timers: use the employee cost calculator to price the role, and see how we fill frontline jobs fast.

Frequently asked questions

Sources read 24 September 2026: Michigan LEO (Wage and Hour Division pages, FAQs and posters), Michigan Treasury Form 3281, U.S. Department of Labor, eCFR. Part of Boostpoint’s state labor law series; see also Michigan minimum wage.