The federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. In the absence of action at the national level, many states and localities have raised their own minimum wages.

On Jan. 1, 22 states — including Michigan — will increase their minimum wages, raising pay for an estimated 9.9 million workers. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the increases will provide support to many workers and families in need. Almost one in five workers getting a raise Jan. 1 have incomes below the poverty line. More than a quarter of the affected workers are parents.

The minimum wage increases come as critics warn that higher labor costs can lead to job cuts, automation, and price hikes for goods and services.

In Michigan, the minimum wage will rise from $10.10 per hour to $10.33. That translates to an additional $216 annually for the average full-time worker.

A case before the Michigan Supreme Court may determine if Michigan low-wage workers are entitled to a more significant increase. In 2018, advocates for a higher minimum wage submitted more than 280,000 valid signatures in a petition drive to raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022, followed by annual inflation adjustments. That proposal, which had enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot, would also eventually eliminate a lower tipped wage in restaurants.

The Republican-controlled Legislature adopted the changes — effectively keeping the measure off the ballot — but then watered them down a few months later. Rick Snyder, the Republican governor at the time, signed the legislation into law, triggering years of legal challenges that have finally reached the state’s highest court.

Under current law, Michigan’s minimum wage would not surpass $12 an hour until 2030, eight years after the ballot initiative would have achieved that.

The state Court of Claims found in 2022 that the legislature had acted unconstitutionally. The state Court of Appeals reversed that decision in January, affirming the constitutionality.

The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case earlier this month.

In Wisconsin, the minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, having last been increased in 2009. That rate is the same as the federal minimum wage.

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in November, which compared to a national average of 3.7% and a Michigan rate of 4.3%.

The EPI reports that in January minimum wages in Maryland, New Jersey, and upstate New York will reach or exceed $15 an hour for the first time, joining California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, and the rest of New York as states at or above $15 an hour.