Michigan Supreme Court Decision in MIRC v. Whitmer Threatens the Rights of All Michiganders
Ruling did not reach merits of case brought for worker and immigrant justice; Onus now on governor and legislature to act
A 4-3 majority of the Michigan Supreme Court today authorized the state to violate the rights of Michiganders with impunity.
The case before the Court was a challenge brought by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center to the state’s continued denial of workers’ compensation wages to undocumented workers who suffer serious injuries at work. This practice violates Michigan Supreme Court precedent and due process. The court did not reach the merits of MIRC’s legal argument. Rather, it wrote that it is “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.” The ruling not only matters for the safety and health of immigrant workers in Michigan, but has much broader implications for any Michigander seeking justice for illegal conduct by the state.
As Justice Thomas, joined by Chief Justice Cavanaugh, wrote in her dissent today: “This ruling ignores the language of the statute and more than 100 years of sovereign-immunity law. It also risks placing formalism above the rights and freedoms enshrined in our federal and state Constitutions.”
MIRC, and its counsel organizations FarmSTAND and the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, issued the following joint statement:
“This is a sad day for the law in Michigan. The Michigan Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling today was not on the merits of whether the state is legally obligated to include all workers – regardless of immigration status – in workers’ comp. But the decision undermines all Michiganders’ rights – letting stand a ruling that because the Governor violated the Constitution in the past she can continue to do so in the future. It also leaves the state legislature and governor with the obligation to determine whether they are going to comply with the law and provide all workers compensation for on-the-job injuries, or continue to allow undocumented workers serving Michigan businesses to be scapegoated. If the courts won’t compel what is right, MIRC, the communities it serves, and all residents are at the mercy of those in power.”