Supreme Court Justices allow Whistleblower case to go forward

A woman's Whistleblower Protection Act claim arising out of her 2004 termination will go to trial, finally.  This week, the Supreme Court ruled that Cheryl Debano-Griffin is entitled to have a "day in court" arising out of her 2004 termination.  She argues that the Lake County Board of Commissioners eliminated her position after she detected and reported mis-use of the County ambulance fund.   Lake County has argued that it eliminated her position as a budget move, and in a series of appeals the County has delayed any trial on Debano-Griffin's claims. 

This week, finally, the Michigan Supreme Court confirmed that the woman is entitled to a trial on the merits of her claim that her discharge was motivated by illegal retaliation and was not a legitimate budgeting move.  At one point, a court had held that it was "mere coincidence" that the County eliminted the Plaintiff's job within a few weeks of her complaint about illegal management of the ambulance fund.