Michigan Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in state worker lawsuit

Lansing State Journal

A Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman says a guard who worked at a western Michigan prison died after contracting bacterial meningitis and an inmate has been diagnosed with it.

LANSING - The Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a dispute over whether pay cuts for thousands of Michigan Department of Corrections employees were properly handled.

A hearing date hasn't been scheduled but justices said earlier this month they want to hear arguments on whether the Michigan Department of Corrections followed state law and civil service rules.

From the archives:"State-worker pay cuts proper, court rules"

More: "State workers' pay cut 'arbitrary and capricious,' judge rules"

At issue is the department's 2012 decision to essentially downgrade nearly 2,500 positions, cutting the pay for affected workers between 59 cents and $1.48 per hour.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission, which regulates state workers, agreed with the department's argument that the positions were always improperly classified. The employees' union, the Michigan Corrections Organization had argued the employees deserved the higher pay because they performed more specialized work.

The employees' union sued and in 2016 won in Ingham County Circuit Court. The following year, however, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned that decision, and the union asked the Supreme Court to weigh in.

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.