It is now less than two weeks before the deadline for the Legislature and Governor Gretchen Whitmer to wrap up a new state budget, and thousands of state employees are wondering where they stand in the negotiations.
State employee union contracts require 14 days advance warning before layoff notices go out. The state has not provided that warning, despite that the budget picture remains very uncertain amid a standoff between the GOP-led House and the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, to get a bipartisan budget deal to Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer .
One way to skirt that requirement might be to deem the layoffs “temporary,” which does not require advance notice. There is a state rule (2-4.4 in the Michigan Civil Service rulebook) that says covered state employees can be placed on temporary leave for no more than a total of 20 days in a state fiscal year. That could explain why notices have not been sent to state workers.
But a state employee union leader told Michigan Public Radio that not sending notices, even if the layoffs are temporary, would be unfair to state workers, damage employee morale and undermine public confidence in the reliability of public services.
“We still need to know what the plan is, what the contingency plan is, and we have received no information,” said Rachel Dickinson, president of United Auto Workers Local 6000, which represents 15,000 workers across a swath of state departments. “We’re not sure if they’re going have to face layoffs. I mean, these delays and potential furloughs, it disrupts livelihoods and families.”
Dickinson says layoffs without notification in this situation would violate state civil service rules, and attempting layoffs without the 14-day notice would likely trigger a grievance process.
A budget office spokesperson said the Whitmer administration still hopes to get a bipartisan budget deal through the Legislature before the deadline.
“We remain hopeful that we’ll have a deal in place by the Oct. 1 deadline,” said Lauren Leeds, communications director for the State Budget Office.
“State of Michigan employees work hard to provide the critical services that Michiganders across the state rely on every day,” she said. “That’s why we’re continuing to negotiate with our legislative partners to enact a full budget that protects Michiganders and our economy – so that state government remains open and dedicated public employees can continue their important work.”
