The Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (WPA); MCL 15.362; “Public body” (MCL 15.361(d)); “Law enforcement agency”; The Private Security Business & Security Alarm Act (PSBSA); MCL 338.1067a; The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards Act (MCOLES); “Law enforcement officer” (MCL 28.602(f)(ii)(L)); Discharge contrary to public policy; Smith v Town & Country Props II, Inc; Distinguishing Landin v Healthsource Saginaw, Inc; Motion to unseal documents sealed under a protective order; MCR 2.302(C)

Holding that defendant-Spectrum Health’s security police force is not a “public body” for purposes of the WPA, the court affirmed summary disposition for defendants on plaintiff-former employee’s WPA claim. It also held that because “Spectrum Health cannot be considered a public body for purposes of the WPA, the trial court did not err when it concluded that plaintiff’s public-policy claim failed as a matter of law.” Finally, it concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion to unseal some of the documents sealed under a stipulated protective order. Plaintiff asserted that the termination of his employment was in retaliation for his reporting “that a Spectrum Health security officer was spying on another female security officer while she was in a lactation room pumping breastmilk” and his expression of “dissatisfaction with how his superiors were handling the investigation[.]” The question before the court was “whether defendants constitute a law enforcement agency, and therefore a ‘public body,’ for the purposes of the WPA. There is no dispute that Spectrum Health’s security department is licensed by the State of Michigan under the PSBSA.” After reviewing the MCOLES, the court found that while “Spectrum Health’s private security police may carry weapons and equipment comparable to law enforcement officers, may wear similar uniforms, and even may possess the legal authority to conduct warrantless arrests on Spectrum Health’s premises, and are governed by standards established by the Michigan State Police, they are explicitly excluded by MCOLES from the definition of a ‘law enforcement officer’ and do not possess an MCOLES certification like law enforcement officers do in the State of Michigan.” As a result, the trial court did not err in granting defendants summary disposition of plaintiff’s WPA claim. Likewise, his public-policy claim failed “as a matter of law because while Spectrum Health may have had an obligation to report certain crimes, and the failure to do so constitutes a misdemeanor, . . . the PSBSA does not contain a specific ‘legislative statement’ prohibiting the discharge of an employee.” Finally, the documents plaintiff sought to unseal were in a nonparty’s personnel file. Thus, the court upheld the trial court’s ruling under the plain language of MCR 2.302(C). Affirmed.