Michigan Employment Relations Commission - 186-0209-26
Agency Description
The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) is an independent agency charged with administering various laws governing labor-management relations in the State of Michigan. Its mission is to foster peaceful, cooperative, and effective public and private sector employer-employee relationships with neutral and timely resolution of labor disputes, application of conflict resolution processes, and education and training. MERC is comprised of three members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate to set policy and adjudicate labor disputes involving certain public and private sector employees. Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Bureau of Employment Relations (BER) is the administrative arm of MERC and serves as the functional organization that carries out MERC mandates.
BER’s Labor Relations and Mediation Divisions provide oversight and handle administrative tasks including, but not limited to, appointing mediators, arbitrators and fact finders, conducting union representation elections, and determining appropriate bargaining units. For fiscal year 2025, BER was appropriated approximately $4.6 million and had 15 full-time employees, including 7 labor mediators, who initiated approximately 1,800 cases and closed 600 cases.
Audit Objectives
- To assess the sufficiency of BER’s efforts to administer selected labor-management relations cases for MERC.
- To assess the effectiveness of selected security and access controls over the MERC e-File system.
Timing
Estimated Release Date: Mid 2026
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