2024 House Resolution 310

Whereas, Heidi Washington was first appointed to the position of Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) in 2015. Since that time, she has failed to address a number of issues within correctional facilities throughout the state, which have resulted in dangerous working conditions for our corrections officers; and

Whereas, One of the biggest challenges that corrections officers within the MDOC have faced under the Heidi Washington administration is severe staffing shortages. This has forced officers to work mandatory doubles, meaning that they are working 16-hour shifts multiple times a week. Anonymous corrections officers have reached out to their legislators, reporting that they have fallen asleep behind the wheel and even slept in their vehicles due to the excessive amounts of overtime that they are being forced to work. This has taken a heavy toll on our officers, impacting not only their mental health but their relationships with their families; and

Whereas, In October 2018, the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union organization charged with advocating for and protecting Michigan’s corrections officers, sent a letter to Heidi Washington outlining the concerns held by many within the MDOC. These concerns were accompanied by specific examples of issues being faced by corrections officers in MDOC facilities. However, these calls for help went unanswered; and

Whereas, In 2020, another letter was sent to Heidi Washington by the Michigan Corrections Organization outlining additional concerns, while also expressing a lack of faith in Heidi Washington’s ability to lead the MDOC effectively. Concerns raised within this letter included not only the staffing shortages, but also a lack of transparency from the administrative arm of the MDOC, failures to properly report prisoner disturbances, and reckless and unfounded comments made by MDOC officials about the corrections officers’ role in bringing the COVID-19 virus into the prisons. These and other problems produced dangerous working conditions in correctional facilities, causing employees to experience low morale, depression, anxiety, and fear; and

Whereas, Despite the growing public attention to and recognition of the many dangerous conditions that corrections officers are facing, little has been done to remedy these issues, which has caused a continuing high vacancy rate for officers. According to information from the Michigan Corrections Organization, from July 1, 2024 to July 18, 2024, at the Baraga Correctional Facility, which is a maximum-security facility, corrections officers were working at a 34 percent vacancy rate. This resulted in 544 overtime shifts and 135 violations of the MDOC’s 32-hour rule, which is designed to protect officers from excessive overtime. During this same period of time, there were 350 instances of “closed” officer positions, meaning that a corrections officer was not stationed at a required position within the facility; and

Whereas, These types of disturbing figures can be found within other MDOC facilities as well, showing that these issues are not limited to a specific facility and its staff, but are indicative of department-wide failures. At the Marquette Branch Prison, which is another maximum-security facility, the vacancy rate currently hovers around 33 percent. From July 1, 2024 to July 28, 2024, there were 785 overtime shifts and 519 “closed” officer positions. Chippewa Correctional Facility has reached a vacancy rate of 27 percent, resulting in 1,948 overtime shifts from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024; and

Whereas, Due to the high vacancy rates of corrections officers, since the beginning of July 2024, there have been numerous instances of violence that have erupted at prisons across the state. These incidents have resulted in officers being forced to use tear gas, tasers, and pepper ball launchers. On July 6, 2024, at Chippewa Correctional Facility, a corrections officer was punched in the face by an inmate several times, resulting in the officer suffering a fractured orbital bone. Officers have anonymously reported to their legislators that they are often forced to staff dangerous portions of Michigan’s correctional facilities with untrained or minimal peer support, highlighting a lack of empathy and care that Heidi Washington and the rest of the MDOC administration have for the safety of our corrections officers; and

Whereas, Conditions within MDOC correctional facilities remain so dangerous that the Michigan Corrections Organization has called upon Governor Whitmer to activate the National Guard to offer aid. However, Governor Whitmer has failed to fulfill or otherwise acknowledge this justifiable and urgent request, just as Heidi Washington ineffectually did not join in on the call for action. Similarly, neither Heidi Washington nor Governor Whitmer has publicly demanded that the Civil Service Commission take any action within the scope of its powers, such as remedying the financial standing for retention and recruitment, to address the dangerous realities of our state correctional facilities. Rather, both leaders chose to blatantly ignore the plea for help and continue to perpetuate the unacceptable status quo; and

Whereas, Corrections officers within the MDOC have reported to their state legislators stories about a disturbing culture of fear and retaliation that has been perpetuated within the department. An understanding has settled over employees that if an officer does not toe the line or tries to take basic actions such as reporting inappropriate behavior, calling in sick, or requesting time off, the corrections officer will be reprimanded and bullied by leadership and peers. Officers report having their requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act denied and then receiving disciplinary questionnaires if they fail to comply with the denial. If an officer declines mandatory overtime, they are sometimes forced to take additional time off as retaliation; and

Whereas, The Legislature has made a number of attempts to increase funding for the MDOC to address the staffing crisis and otherwise cure some of the issues facing the department. However, these efforts have been met with resistance from the executive branch, which includes Heidi Washington and the Civil Service Commission. In 2019, the Governor vetoed millions of dollars that was set aside for training new corrections officers in order to remediate the increased number of MDOC employees becoming eligible for retirement. In 2021, the House of Representatives attempted to set aside 34 million dollars in federal COVID-19 money to restore sick and annual leave time for MDOC staff. However, this effort remained without support from the executive branch, and was ultimately excluded from the state budget. In 2022, the executive failed to support any of the attempts by the House of Representatives to allocate federal COVID-19 dollars to a variety of programs aimed at addressing the issues within the MDOC, including signing and retention bonuses. All of these programs were cut from the final budget. Again in 2023, efforts by the Legislature to allocate money to the MDOC for retention and signing bonuses, directly attempting to stem the flow of the staffing crisis, was foiled by the executive, which removed the bonuses from the final budget; and

Whereas, The executive branch’s failure to meet the needs of those who work on the frontlines of the MDOC has not been limited to the financials. In 2019, the executive rid the budget of boilerplate language that protected MDOC staff from retaliation if they spoke to legislators. In 2021, a number of amendments were made to boilerplate terms by the executive that served to either delete or weaken department reporting requirements. As recently as the 2023 budget, the executive once again attempted to water down the reporting requirements for the MDOC, particularly those in relation to retention. Thus, the Governor, the Civil Service Commission, and Heidi Washington have together stymied the efforts of corrections officers and the Legislature to improve conditions in MDOC facilities; and

Whereas, The Director of a principal state department is charged with the responsibility of supervising and controlling the affairs of their department. This includes advocating to the Governor, the Civil Service Commission, and the state for items that would better meet the needs of the department and help them carry out their duties. Heidi Washington has failed in her duties to advocate for the MDOC and its dedicated public servants; and

Whereas, Heidi Washington’s narrow-minded focus on recruitment rather than retention has exacerbated pre-existing issues within the MDOC and has continued to lead to high turnover. Corrections officers are continuously expected to sacrifice time with their families, being forced to use their limited time off resting and fighting off exhaustion. Their personal lives have been surrendered to the MDOC, with no support being offered by the department. Once a profession that instilled pride in its civil servants, corrections officers of today actively encourage peers to retire, while warning friends and family away from careers within the MDOC due to the continued failures of leadership; and

Whereas, Heidi Washington’s failures are so widespread and systemic that a change in leadership is the only way to move forward. Corrections officers within the MDOC have been put into an extremely dangerous situation, only to be met with empty promises and a lack of results; and

Whereas, Heidi Washington has lost the confidence of the House of Representatives, and it is time for the MDOC to have a Director who is interested in and capable of fixing the various issues that exist within the department; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we call on Heidi Washington, Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections, to resign; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to Director Washington.