Lawsuit claiming public-sector employees must be informed of Janus rights dismissed Ballotpedia News – Ballotpedia News

U.S. district judge dismisses Illinois teachers claim that public-sector unions must inform employees of Janus rights

On March 28, Judge John F. Kness of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an Illinois teachers lawsuit claiming that, under the U.S. Supreme Courts 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, public-sector unions are obligated to inform prospective members of their right not to join or pay fees to a union.

In Janus, the Supreme Court said, States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees. By agreeing to pay, nonmembers are waiving their First Amendment rights, and such a waiver cannot be presumed. Rather, to be effective, the waiver must be freely given and shown by clear and compelling evidence. Unless employees clearly and affirmatively consent before any money is taken from them, this standard cannot be met.

The plaintiff was Ariadna Ramon Baro, a public school teacher who moved to Illinois from Spain in 2019 as part of an exchange program. The defendants were the Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504 and Waukegan Community Unit School District #60.

The Liberty Justice Center, which represented Baro, described the case as part of a new line of workers rights cases that seek to ensure that government employers and unions do not withhold union dues from employees unless they first ensure that such employees have knowledge of their Janus rights by informing them of such rights.

Baro filed her lawsuit against the union and school district on April 3, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Baros attorneys alleged that neither the District nor Lake County Federation of Teachers informed her of her right not to pay dues or fees to Local 504. Instead, a presentation by representatives of Local 504 made at her orientation left Ms. Baro with the impression that she was required to join and pay money to Local 504. She could not, therefore, have made a knowing and intelligent waiver of her right to not pay money to the union. Baro also said she received an email in which a union representative said, Just to clarify, you will pay union dues regardless of whether or not you are a member, a statement which Baro did not realize was incorrect. By holding Ms. Baro to the union card she signed without a knowing waiver of her rights, the complaint said, Local 504 and the District are violating her First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association.

Baro asked the court to [d]eclare that her signing of a union card cannot provide a basis for her affirmative consent to waive her First Amendment rights upheld in Janus because such authorization was given without knowing and intelligent waiver of her First Amendment rights.

According to the Cook County Record, About 12 days [after Baro filed her lawsuit], the union sent her a letter confirming she was no longer a union member, and included a check for $829, representing all the dues she had paid to that point, plus $500. Baro then amended her lawsuit, including a demand for unspecified punitive damages against the union.

The union and school district filed motions to dismiss the amended complaint on Aug. 3, 2020.

Judge John F. Kness dismissed the case on March 28. Citing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuits ruling in Bennett v. AFSCME Council 31 (2021), the Ninth Circuits ruling in Belgau v. Inslee (2020), and the Northern District of Illinois ruling in Troesch v. Chicago Teachers Union (2021), Kness wrote:

Even accepting Plaintiffs erroneous beliefs as true, Plaintiffs claim fails as a matter of law. As explained above, Plaintiff voluntarily joined the union. As for Plaintiffs suggestion that her choice is not binding because it was ill-informed, the Court is aware of no authority (including Janus) that imposes a duty of informed consent to apply for membership in a union. Put differently, Janus did not mandate the workplace equivalent of Miranda warnings before an employees application to join a public-sector union could be presumed valid. Plaintiffs voluntary act of signing and submitting a union membership application card means that the concern in Janusnonmembers being forced to pay union duesis not present here.

In sum, Plaintiffs complaint does not raise a right to relief beyond the speculative level. Plaintiff may now regret her earlier decision to join the Union, but that does not render her knowing and voluntary choice nonconsensual. Unlike the proscribed conduct by Janus employer, the Districts deductions of dues from Plaintiffs earnings were made in compliance with Plaintiffs explicit written instructions. In the light of Plaintiffs voluntary agreement to pay union dues, and in the absence of any legitimate claim of compulsion, Plaintiff has failed to state a First Amendment claim against Defendants.

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Kness to the court in 2019.

Baro has 30 days from the judgment entered on March 29 to file a notice of appeal.

The case name and number are Ramon Baro v. Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504 et al. (1:20-cv-02126).

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