About the ERB
The Employment Relations Board is appointed by the Civil Service Commission to consider and make recommendations concerning appeals of:
The ERB also serves as an impasse panel to resolve collective bargaining disputes and as the coordinated compensation panel for NERE pay proposals. It derives its authority from Rule 1-15, Employment Relations Board.
Members
ERB Members are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Commission. Current ERB members are Susan Zurvalec, Chair; Matthew Wesaw; and Judge William C. Whitbeck.
Susan H. Zurvalec was the Superintendent of Farmington Public Schools from 2005 until her retirement in 2014. From 1989 to 2005, she was an administrator responsible for Human Resources and Employee Relations for Farmington Public Schools. From 1984 to 1989, she was the Assistant in Employee Relations for the Lansing School District. From 1982 to 1984, she was a Labor Relations Consultant for the Michigan Association of School Boards, assisting school districts in labor negotiations. She was a classroom teacher and reading consultant for the Lansing Schools from 1975-1982. Ms. Zurvalec was a labor arbitrator and past president of both the Michigan Negotiators Association and the Michigan Public Employer Labor Relations Association. In 2001-2002, she served as the national President of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators. She received her BA from the University of Michigan and a MA in Education and Master in Human Resources and Labor Relations from Michigan State University. Ms. Zurvalec was first appointed to the ERB in January 1998. She serves as Chair by designation of the Civil Service Commission..
Matthew J. Wesaw began his career of public service with 26 years as a state trooper. He was also elected vice president of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association while a trooper and later served as the MSPTA's director of government relations. Mr. Wesaw served on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 2004 to 2012, including two years as its chair. He was named executive director for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Wesaw also has served as a tribal council member, vice chairman, and chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. He has also been executive director of the United Tribes of Michigan, president and CEO of the Pokagon Gaming Authority, and area vice-president and recording secretary of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). Mr. Wesaw has also served as a board member of the Lansing American Indian Center and the Nokomis Learning Center. He attended Great Lakes Christian College and has a degree in Criminal Justice from Lansing Community College. Mr. Wesaw was first appointed to the ERB in May 2017.
Judge William C. Whitbeck served on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 1997 until 2014. In private practice for over 20 years, he was a partner in the law firms Honigman Miller, Dykema Gossett, and McLellan, Schlaybaugh & Whitbeck. He was an assistant to Governor Romney, Special Assistant to Secretary Romney at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Area Director of the Detroit Office of H.U.D. He served as Director of Policy in the Michigan Public Service Commission for Governor William G. Milliken. He was Counsel to Governor John M. Engler and was the Director of the Office of State Employer. He is a member and Fellow of the Michigan State and American Bar Associations. He is the past chairman of Administrative Law Section of the Michigan State Bar Association, a "Master of the Bench," and past President of the American Inns of Court Chapter at the MSU College of Law. He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Journalism in 1963 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1966. His first legal mystery, To Account for Murder, was published in November 2010. He was first appointed to the ERB in December 2014.
Meetings
The Board usually meets monthly to consider claims of appeal as of right, applications for leave to appeal, and motions. Meetings are usually held in the hearing rooms adjacent to the Board offices in Lansing, but may also be held by teleconference. Consideration of applications and motions are in closed session with Board members and Board staff only.
Staff
Nicholas Kechkaylo
Board Appeals Officer
Mary Gobbo
Board Executive Secretary
E-mail: MCSC-ERB@mi.gov
Phone: 517-335-5588
Website: www.mi.gov/erb
