By Todd DeFeoThe Center Squarehttps://www.thecentersquare.com/Staff attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation have issued a legal notice to state employees, informing them of their right to end union dues deductions.

The notice, which includes sample resignation letters, comes after the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation helped four public employees in Ohio win a settlement in a federal class-action lawsuit challenging a so-called escape period.

Under Ohios previous maintenance of membership policy, an estimated 28,000 state workers in the state could only end union dues deductions during a period that opened roughly once every three years, according to the foundation.

The employees filed suit against 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.

They argued 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, and ruled the government can only deduct union dues or fees with a workers affirmative consent.

All State of Ohio public workers must be aware that they cannot be forced into abandoning their First Amendment right to refrain from subsidizing an unwanted union hierarchy just to keep their jobs, National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix said in a statement.

Any State of Ohio public servant who is falsely told that they must sign a union dues deduction form should contact the Foundation for free legal assistance in defending their Janus rights, he added.

The workers filed their lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. At least 150 people were refunded dues as a result of the settlement.

OCSEA intends to solicit employees to sign new membership and dues deduction cards that purport to restrict when employees can stop the deduction of union dues from their wages, the notice reads.

According to the National Right to Work Foundation, the most recent ruling is the fourth it has settled in the Buckeye State in favor of workers.

In January 2019, the organization won a settlement for seven Ohio public employees who filed a similar federal class-action lawsuit challenging AFSCME Council 8. The foundation subsequently helped two other Ohio public employees end escape period restrictions.

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National Right to Work informs state workers of their right to end union dues - The Highland County Press