Rayiana McMiller-Copeland was hired by the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility in Michigan in June 2024, starting as a probationary employee. Her employment was abruptly terminated on June 27, 2024, following a significant security incident at the facility. The incident in question involved five residents who were reportedly out of their assigned rooms without authorization, a situation that escalated into a physical altercation.
As the staff member on duty, McMiller-Copeland was deemed responsible for the lapse in supervision that allowed the incident to occur. In the aftermath, the County presented her with a corrective action form to sign, which formally documented her alleged failure to maintain proper control and security. McMiller-Copeland refused to sign the document, asserting that it contained inaccurate or incomplete facts regarding the circumstances of the altercation and her role in it. Her employment was terminated shortly thereafter.
McMiller-Copeland alleged she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for refusing to sign the disciplinary form, which she characterized as an act of integrity and dissent. She filed separate unfair labor practice charges against both the employer, Wayne County, and her union, AFSCME Local 3317. She claimed the County violated the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) by terminating her for challenging the corrective action, and that the Local violated its duty of fair representation under PERA by failing to adequately challenge her dismissal through the grievance procedure.
An ALJ of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission recommended dismissal of both charges. The ALJ found the charge against the employer meritless because McMiller-Copeland failed to allege any facts showing she had engaged in protected union activity, such as organizing or collective bargaining, or that her termination was motivated by such activity. The ALJ emphasized that PERA does not grant the Commission jurisdiction to act as a general arbiter of employment fairness; its authority is limited to remedying violations specifically related to protected, concerted activity.
Regarding the Local, an affidavit from the Local’s president established that as a probationary employee under the collective bargaining agreement, McMiller-Copeland’s termination was explicitly excluded from the formal grievance procedure. Despite this contractual limitation, the Local president attested that she still attempted to advocate for the employee by requesting that management reduce the termination to a lesser form of discipline. The ALJ concluded the Local’s actions were not arbitrary, taken in bad faith, or so irrational as to breach its duty of fair representation. The charges were dismissed in their entirety, and Commission adopted the decision as its final order after no exceptions were filed.
Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility, et al., 39 MPER ¶ 6 (MERC 2025).