Market data
Employment law in Michigan: market data
What public records say about the market for employment law in Michigan: how much demand the courts and agencies count, how many law offices serve it, how many people need help in Spanish, and the ad rules that apply. Every number links to the record it comes from.
Demand: what courts and agencies count
Counts of filings, crashes, complaints and enforcement in the records each agency keeps. A count shows where problems were recorded, not how many people will hire a lawyer.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EEOC charges alleging age discrimination | 512 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-age · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| EEOC charges of discrimination (all bases) | 2,486 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-all · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| EEOC charges alleging disability discrimination | 1,025 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-disability · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| EEOC charges alleging race discrimination | 833 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-race · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| EEOC charges alleging retaliation | 1,398 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-retaliation · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| EEOC charges alleging sex discrimination | 724 charges, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | eeoc-charges v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005 record eeoc-mi-sex · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: employment | 565 cases filed, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | federal-filings-county v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750628 record federal-filings-county:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: labor and benefits | 129 cases filed, fiscal year | FY2025 | Michigan state | federal-filings-county v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750628 record federal-filings-county:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Back wages WHD found owed, ten fiscal years | 39,472,683 US dollars | FY2016-FY2025 | Michigan state | wage-enforcement v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744226 record wage-enforcement:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Wage and Hour Division cases concluded | 266 cases | FY2025 | Michigan state | wage-enforcement v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744226 record wage-enforcement:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Wage and Hour Division cases, ten fiscal years | 4,259 cases | FY2016-FY2025 | Michigan state | wage-enforcement v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744226 record wage-enforcement:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Employees owed back wages, ten fiscal years | 56,373 employees | FY2016-FY2025 | Michigan state | wage-enforcement v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744226 record wage-enforcement:MI · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Federal civil filings: private civil rights (includes employment) | 801 cases filed, 12 months | 12 months ending 2026-06-30 | Eastern District of Michigan federal district | civil-filings v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23720009 record cf-mie-priv-civil-rights · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil filings: private labor (wage and hour, ERISA, family leave) | 231 cases filed, 12 months | 12 months ending 2026-06-30 | Eastern District of Michigan federal district | civil-filings v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23720009 record cf-mie-priv-labor · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: employment and wage claims | 1,154 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Eastern District of Michigan federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-mie-employment · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: labor relations and employee benefits | 371 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Eastern District of Michigan federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-mie-labor-benefits · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil filings: private civil rights (includes employment) | 437 cases filed, 12 months | 12 months ending 2026-06-30 | Western District of Michigan federal district | civil-filings v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23720009 record cf-miw-priv-civil-rights · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil filings: private labor (wage and hour, ERISA, family leave) | 85 cases filed, 12 months | 12 months ending 2026-06-30 | Western District of Michigan federal district | civil-filings v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23720009 record cf-miw-priv-labor · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: employment and wage claims | 552 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Western District of Michigan federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-miw-employment · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
| Federal civil cases filed: labor relations and employee benefits | 71 cases filed, three fiscal years | FY2023-2025 | Western District of Michigan federal district | idb-civil v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969 record idb-miw-labor-benefits · status P · checked 2026-10-27 |
Rising or falling
The change between the last two periods each source publishes. No threshold and no smoothing.
| Measure | Before | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEOC charges of discrimination (all bases) Michigan · record eeoc-mi-all | 2,064 FY2024 | 2,486 FY2025 | rising (+20.4%) |
| Federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: employment Michigan · record federal-filings-county:MI | 581 FY2024 | 565 FY2025 | falling (-2.8%) |
| Federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: labor and benefits Michigan · record federal-filings-county:MI | 148 FY2024 | 129 FY2025 | falling (-12.8%) |
| Wage and Hour Division cases concluded Michigan · record wage-enforcement:MI | 347 FY2024 | 266 FY2025 | falling (-23.3%) |
Lawyer supply
How many law offices and lawyers the federal statistics count here.
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New lawyers admitted | 1,095 lawyers a year | 2025 | Michigan state | bar-pipeline v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443 record mi-bar-pipeline · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties under 1 law office per 10,000 residents | 12 counties | 2026-Q1 | Michigan state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Counties with no law office | 7 counties | 2026-Q1 | Michigan state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Residents living in those low-office counties | 3.2 percent of residents | 2026-Q1 | Michigan state | deserts v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430 record deserts-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Employer law firms | 3,605 firms | 2022 | Michigan state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-mi-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Receipts of employer law firms | 5,448,007,000 US dollars | 2022 | Michigan state | law-firm-economy v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997 record lfe-mi-all · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Law offices per 10,000 residents | 4.37 per 10,000 residents | 2026-Q1 | Michigan state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Self-employed lawyers (nonemployer firms) | 7,347 firms | latest Nonemployer Statistics year | Michigan state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Private law offices | 4,429 establishments | 2026-Q1 | Michigan state | law-offices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415 record law-offices-26 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Lawyers employed (wage-earning, BLS OEWS) | 16,620 jobs | May 2025 | Michigan state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:MI:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Median annual wage of employed lawyers | 130,520 US dollars a year | May 2025 | Michigan state | lawyer-wages v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840 record lawyer-wages:MI:231011:2025 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Counties with the most demand per law office
Of the 25 counties in Michigan with the most federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: employment, the ten with the most per private law office. Both counts are shown with their records.
| County | Demand | Law offices | Per office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gratiot County, MI | 3 record federal-filings-county:26057 | 4 record law-offices-26057 | 0.75 |
| Van Buren County, MI | 5 record federal-filings-county:26159 | 7 record law-offices-26159 | 0.71 |
| Shiawassee County, MI | 6 record federal-filings-county:26155 | 9 record law-offices-26155 | 0.67 |
| Ionia County, MI | 3 record federal-filings-county:26067 | 6 record law-offices-26067 | 0.5 |
| Branch County, MI | 3 record federal-filings-county:26023 | 8 record law-offices-26023 | 0.38 |
| Jackson County, MI | 10 record federal-filings-county:26075 | 28 record law-offices-26075 | 0.36 |
| Cass County, MI | 3 record federal-filings-county:26027 | 9 record law-offices-26027 | 0.33 |
| Calhoun County, MI | 6 record federal-filings-county:26025 | 19 record law-offices-26025 | 0.32 |
| Saginaw County, MI | 20 record federal-filings-county:26145 | 65 record law-offices-26145 | 0.31 |
| Wayne County, MI | 143 record federal-filings-county:26163 | 494 record law-offices-26163 | 0.29 |
Federal civil cases filed by county of the plaintiff: employment (federal-filings-county v1.0.0, FY2025) ÷ Private law offices (law-offices v1.0.0, 2026-Q1). ratio = federal-filings-county.ffc.employment / law-offices.qcew_estabs, rounded to 2 decimals; ranked highest first, among the 25 units with the most demand. Units with zero supply are listed apart (ratio undefined); units without a published value are listed as missing.
Spanish-language demand
People who speak Spanish and speak English less than very well, and the lawyers who speak Spanish, from the Census Bureau survey (with margins of error).
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers who speak Spanish at home (ACS) | 298 ±137 lawyers | 2020-2024 | Michigan state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:MI:lawyers-spanish · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English per Spanish-speaking lawyer | 349 ±161 people per lawyer | 2020-2024 | Michigan state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:MI:lep-per-spanish-lawyer · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English (ACS) | 104,105 ±3,117 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | Michigan state | language v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758 record language:state:MI:spanish-lep · status P · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Spanish speakers with limited English | 104,105 ±3,063 people age 5+ | 2020-2024 | Michigan state | legal-need v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886 record legal-need-mi · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Ad rules that apply
The rules a law firm's ads in Michigan have to meet, summarized from the official texts. The full rules, with quotes, are on the state page.
| Topic | Status | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | The rules do not require ads to be filed or reviewed in advance. Keep a copy or recording of each ad for two years after it last ran, with a record of when and where it was used (7.2(b)). official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Required content | P primary source | For media advertising run under the heading of a phone number, web address, icon or trade name, the ad names at least one responsible lawyer with contact information. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Waiting periods for contact | P primary source | No waiting period in the Rules of Professional Conduct. By statute, no one may intentionally contact a person known to be injured in a motor vehicle accident, or an immediate family member, with a direct solicitation until 30 days after the accident, unless… official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Claims and results | P primary source | A communication cannot contain a material misrepresentation, create an unjustified expectation about results, or compare a lawyer's services with others' unless the comparison can be factually substantiated (7.1(a) to (c)). official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | A lawyer cannot give anything of value for recommending the lawyer's services, except to pay the reasonable cost of advertising, to pay the usual charges of a not-for-profit lawyer referral service or other legal service organization meeting Rule 6.3(b), or… official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Call recording | P primary source | The eavesdropping statute defines eavesdropping as recording the private discourse of others without the permission of all persons engaged in it. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Texting | P primary source | Section 1a bars telephone solicitations that use a recorded message and calls to numbers on the do-not-call list. Only a person who suffers loss from a violation may sue, for actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. official source · rules v1.4.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750572 · checked 2026-10-28 |
| Ad filing or review | P primary source | Michigan: no filing or review of lawyer ads is required. official source · filing v1.2.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721409 · checked 2026-10-25 |
| Paying for referrals | P primary source | Lawyers in different firms may split a fee if the client is told about all the lawyers and does not object and the total fee is reasonable; there is no proportion-of-work or joint-responsibility test. official source · referral v1.1.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23747113 · checked 2026-10-27 |
Prices and pay (national)
| Measure | Value | Period | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs in legal services (seasonally adjusted) | 1,249 thousand jobs | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CES6054110001:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| CPI-U: legal services | 230 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:CUUR0000SEGC01:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| PPI: offices of lawyers | 338 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:PCU541110541110:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
| PPI: labor and employment legal services | 151 index | 2026-09 | United States United States | legal-prices v1.0.0 doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854 record legal-prices:PCU541110541110A:2026-09 · status P · checked 2026-10-28 |
Download and cite
The rows behind this page, with every dataset, version, DOI, record id and check date.
Cite as: Probative Growth, The new-lawyer pipeline by jurisdiction: bar exam pass rates and new admissions, 2025 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721443); Federal civil filings by nature of suit and district, 12-month periods since 2018 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23720009); Legal deserts: law offices and lawyers per resident in every U.S. county v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721430); Employment discrimination charges to the EEOC, by state and basis, FY 2009 to FY 2025 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23733005); Federal civil cases filed, by county of the plaintiff's residence, case type and year (Federal Judicial Center) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23750628); How long federal civil cases take: outcomes, class actions and pro se share by district, nature of suit and year v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739969); Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro v1.1.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23656758); Law firm size, solos and receipts, by state: Census SUSB 2022, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and Economic Census 2022 v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23739997); Law offices, jobs and pay by county, with solo-practice counts: BLS QCEW, Census CBP and Nonemployer Statistics v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23721415); Lawyer, paralegal and legal-staff pay by state and metro (BLS OEWS) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734840); Legal need by county: who may need a lawyer, from the American Community Survey v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23741886); Legal-services prices and jobs, monthly (BLS CPI, PPI and CES) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23734854); Wage-and-hour and OSHA enforcement by county, state, act and industry (U.S. Department of Labor) v1.0.0 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23744226); CC BY 4.0. https://probativegrowth.com/markets/michigan/employment-law/
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How this page is built
Each figure is copied from one record of the dataset named with it, joined to this state and practice through the open practice and place crosswalk. Nothing is estimated. Methods, inputs and limits.