DETROIT, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- An administration judge in Michigan said the state needs to give 15,000 supervisors a pay raise of 3 percent that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has tried to rescind.
In a rare move, administration law judge William Hutchens awarded the non0union employees their attorney fees in the case, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.
Hutchens rebuked the governor for deliberately skirting civil service rules so the state could avoid paying $45 million in raises, which were set in place in 2007.
Unionized state workers saw their pay increase by the same rate hike Friday, the newspaper said.
If the raise is enforced, the employees would end up paying more of their healthcare costs, but the state said it would appeal Wednesday's ruling.
John DeTizio, labor relations director at the Michigan Association of Governmental Employees, said Hutchens' ruling was "the first step in a long, protracted battle."
