The Board of Regents voted 5-3 on April 2 to direct the university to file an amicus or “friend of the court” brief in favor of the plaintiffs in the case of Hammel et al. v. Speaker of the House of Representatives et al.
At issue is whether a new law that prohibits university graduate student research assistants from forming a union should go into effect immediately. Plaintiffs argue that it should not.
The law, Michigan Public Act 45, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on March 13 was initially expected to take effect immediately upon signing.
On April 2 Ingham Circuit Judge Canady III ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the case. Public Act 45 will, therefore, not go into effect immediately pending further decision of the judge or appeal to other courts. The law is still in place, however the immediate effect of the law has been halted.
