Opinion
Docket No. 143841.COA No. 282921.
2012-03-23
Cheryl DEBANO–GRIFFIN, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. LAKE COUNTY and Lake County Board of Commissioners, Defendants–Appellees.
Prior report: Mich.App., 2011 WL 3760907.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the August 25, 2011 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed: (1) whether the plaintiff established a causal connection between her protected activity and the adverse employment action under the Whistleblowers Protection Act (MCL 15.362) and, if so, (2) whether a whistleblower may challenge an adverse employment decision, which is claimed to be a matter of business judgment that was based on a fiscal or budgetary reason, as a mere pretext over the defendants' assertion that the separation of powers principle prevents the judiciary from examining the budgetary decisions of a legislative body. See Dubey v. Stroh Brewery Co., 185 Mich.App. 561, 565–566, 462 N.W.2d 758 (1990).