Michigan tipped minimum wage 2026
The Michigan tipped cash wage is $4.74 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $7.74 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $12.48 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][MI labor dept.]
Cash wage and tip credit
When tips fall short
If a worker's cash wage plus reported tips do not average to the Michigan minimum of $12.48 per hour over a workweek, the employer must pay the shortfall. The Tip Credit Checker tool runs the math at /tools/tip-credit. Under the 2021 DOL final rule, time spent on non-tip-producing work above 20 percent of the shift (or 30 continuous minutes) must be paid at the full minimum, not the tip-credited rate. [DOL FS-15]
Background
Mothering Justice v. Nessel (Michigan Supreme Court, 2024) reinstated the 2018 Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act. Rate reached $12.48 on 2025-02-21 and steps to $13.73 in 2026, $14.97 in 2027 (with CPI-U adjustment), then full CPI-U indexing. Tipped cash wage phases up to 100 percent of the state minimum by 2031 under MCL 408.934d.