Opinion
SC 164990 COA 357559
04-21-2023
LISA KAPANOWSKI, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SHERWOOD R. KRAUSE, d/b/a ALL PARTITIONS AND PARTS, LLC, and DEBORAH BERSCHBACH, Defendants-Appellants.
Oakland CC: 2020-183157-CD
Elizabeth T. Clement, Chief Justice Brian K. Zahra David F. Viviano Richard H. Bernstein Megan K. Cavanagh Elizabeth M. Welch Kyra H. Bolden, Justices
ORDER
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the September 29, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and REINSTATE the May 28, 2021 opinion and order of the Oakland Circuit Court. As explained by dissenting Judge Markey, the email that the plaintiff sent to the governor's office did not constitute protected activity under the Whistleblowers' Protection Act (WPA), because it did not report a violation or a suspected violation of a law, regulation or promulgated rule and did not concern the defendants. MCL 15.362. Further, the reports the plaintiff made to governmental agencies about her employer's COVID-19 protocols cannot support a WPA claim because her employer was unaware of those reports when it terminated her employment. Thus, the plaintiff could not demonstrate a causal connection between her protected activity and her termination, and the trial court correctly granted summary disposition to the defendants.