(Indianapolis, IN) - State employees could have their right to due process restored under a legal challenge kept alive by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The court ruled a Michigan City woman can proceed with her case.  The lawsuit from Callie Burke alleges the 2011 Civil Service Reform Act taking away due process rights from thousands of state employees was passed in violation of the state’s constitution.  In 2023, Burke was fired from her job as a police officer and investigator with the Indiana State Prison.  She was denied a due process hearing to challenge her termination.

Her attorney, Shaw Friedman said the court’s ruling allows her to proceed with her lawsuit in La Porte Circuit Court for a decision on whether the state constitution was violated.

"If the challenge is successful, it could invalidate the 2011 Act, which essentially gutted a state merit service law that had been in place for decades, potentially restoring due process rights to thousands of public servants across the state who were suddenly transitioned to "at-will" employees with no due process rights," said Friedman, who specializes in employment law at his downtown La Porte practice.