Michigan's governor asks the state supreme court to decide if 'Right to Work' law is legal

Governor Rick Snyder is not waiting on unions to challenge Michigan’s new right-to-work law in court.

Monday, he asked the Michigan Supreme Court to rule preemptively on some questions with the law.

The governor says he wants to avoid months of legal wrangling in lower courts – especially as state civil service contract bargaining is set to begin this summer. He asked the state Supreme Court to settle potential challenges. One is whether exemptions in the law for police and firefighter unions violate the equal protection clause of the U-S Constitution. Another is whether the state Civil Service Commission has the autonomy under the Michigan Constitution to ignore the right-to-work law.

The Supreme Court is not obligated to grant the governor’s request. Nor is there a deadline for the court to decide.

The state Supreme Court has a four-to-two Republican majority. That’s expected to become a five-to-two majority once Governor Snyder fills a vacancy in coming weeks.