Four public employees in Ohio won a settlement in their federal class-action lawsuit against a union and the state, ending a policy that allowed public workers to stop paying union dues only during a limited window. The workers filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, challenging a so-called “escape period,” which limited the timeframe when workers could withdraw from paying union dues. They named Council 11 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Gov. Mike DeWine and Matthew M. Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, as defendants in their complaint. The four argued that limiting the window to decide to stop paying mandatory union dues was an illegal restriction on their First Amendment right. The United States Supreme Court recognized the right in a 2018 decision, Janus v. AFSCME, according to the National Right to Work Legal…
Continue Reading: Ohio public employees win settlement in ‘limited window’ union dues case
