BRIAN J GRABER PLLC represents Michigan employees who are retaliated against in violation of the ELCRA. In Miller v. Corr., SC 164862 at *4 (Mich. May 10, 2024), the Michigan Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion held the ELCRA, MCL 37.2701(a) provides a cause of action for associational or third-party retaliation claims, i.e., where one person claims they were subjected to retaliation as an indirect attack against someone else who engaged in protected activity. In third-party or associational retaliation the employer takes a reprisal against someone other than the person engaging in protected conduct or activity under the ELCA like a family member or close friend. This type of adverse action constitutes retaliation for protected conduct under the ELCRA.

MCL 37.2701(a) provides a cause of action for associational or third-party retaliation claims when employers retaliate against an employee by taking reprisals against family or close friends for their protected activity.

Facts and holding of Miller v. Corr., SC 164862 (Mich. May 10, 2024).

In Miller, SC 16462 at *9-10 (Mich. May 10, 2024), plaintiffs alleged they had a close relationship with Cedric Griffey and that the defendant, Dept. of Corrections, the employer, took adverse action against them in response to Mr. Griffey’s protected acts as follows:

As part of the effort to retaliate against Griffey, Defendants set the Plaintiffs up to be terminated. The Plaintiffs both had an extremely close relationship with Mr. Griffey, which went beyond being mere co-workers.
Plaintiffs Whitman, Miller, and Griffey considered each other friends;
Mr. Griffey had met and interacted with Plaintiffs’ families;
Everyone knew that Plaintiffs were close to Mr. Griffey;
The three shared intimate information about each other’s loved ones and families;
Plaintiffs went to Mr. Griffey not just as a supervisor, but as a friend they could confide in;
Defendants, in an effort to illegally terminate Lisa Griffey, and Cedric Griffey and retaliate against them, Plaintiffs Lt. Whitman and Lt. Miller were terminated.
Defendant, employer, MDOC has a culture of retaliations that ostracizes and punishes employees who bring embarrassment onto the Department, including bringing to light illegal activities and/or discriminations within the ranks.
The Plaintiffs also allege that Defendant, employer’s actions resulted in economic loss, noneconomic loss, and other harms.

In Miller, SC 1642 at *10-11, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs stated a cause of action under the ELCRA held as follows:

Plaintiffs have stated a cause of action under the ELCRA. As required by MCL 372801(1), plaintiffs have alleged a violations of MCL 37.2701(a) by asserting that defendant retaliaed against a person [Cedric Griffey] because the person [Cedric Griffey] opposed a violation of this Act . . . Plaintiffs allege that this violation of MCL 37.2701(a) caused them to suffer damages as defined by MCL 37.2801(3). MCL 37.2701(a) prohibits retaliation against ‘a person’; i.e., one may not ‘retaliate or discriminate against a person because the person has opposed a violations of this Act. . . .’ MCL 37.2701(a) does not specify that the ‘person’ needed to be the plaintiff. If such retaliation or discrimination is alleged to have occurred, a violations of the ELCRA has been stated. MCL 37.2701(a) prohibits retaliation for invoking the rights contained in the ELCRA without limitation ass to what form that retaliation might take. Reading further into the ELCRA, we can see that it clearly provides for this cause of action. Plaintiffs’ allegation that defendant fired them to retaliate against Cedric Griffey alleges a violation of MCL 37.2701(a).
Miller v. Corr., SC 164862 at *10-11 (Mich. May 10, 2024).

In short, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided to hold employers accountable for associational or third-party retaliation claims where employers retaliate against an employee engaging in protected activity under ELCRA, 37.2701(a) by taking reprisals against their close friends because of that protected activity.

BRIAN J GRABER PLLC practices employment law in southwestern Michigan and represents Michigan employees who are retaliated against by their employers in violation of the ELRCA.

BRIAN J GRABER PLLC practices employment law in southwestern Michigan. If you believe that you were retaliated against in violations of the ELCRA, contact BRIAN J GRABER PLLC for a free confidential consultation at (269) 230-6054 or by email. Do not face a wrongful termination on your own. Click here to learn more about your rights under the ELCRA and federal law to be free from employment discrimination and retaliation:

The ELCRA provides a cause of action for third-party retaliation claims.

Facts and holding of Miller v. Corr., SC 164862 (Mich. May 10, 2024).

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