Michigan Hikes Minimum Wage By 35 Cents

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LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Michigan's minimum wage workers are starting 2018 with more money.

On Jan. 1, the minimum wage rose to $9.25 an hour. That's a 35-cent increase since last year, the final increment provided by a 2014 law.

Starting in 2019, the minimum wage is due to increase annually with inflation unless the unemployment rate is high.

Employers can pay 85 percent of the minimum to employees age 16 and 17. The training wage remains at $4.25 per hour for new hires age 16 to 19 for the first 90 days of employment.

Advocates for restaurant workers have launched a ballot drive in a bid to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour and pay tipped employees the hourly minimum.