Effective January 22, 2024, Michigan’s law on compulsory arbitration of public labor disputes will be officially amended to include police officers employed by higher education institutions. The new law also adds corrections officer employed by a county sheriff in a county jail, work camp, or other facility maintained by a county that houses adult prisoners within its scope.

Originally passed into law in 1969, Act 312 requires municipal police and fire departments to resolve their labor disputes through binding arbitration (and thus aims to eliminate recourse to work stoppages like strikes).

Institutions of higher education should be prepared to assess the impact the new law may have on wages, benefits, and working conditions and hours for their existing police force.