Litigation continues following the Janus employee freedom victory: Could you be a plaintiff?
Please forward this e-mail to anyone you know who might be interested in joining our litigation.
The Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 2018 in Janus v AFSCME that the First Amendment prohibits public-sector unions from taking or collecting money from non-union members (“fair-share” fee payers).
Importantly, the Supreme Court also ruled that public-sector unions like AFSCME, SEIU, AFL-CIO and Education Minnesota must get “clear and affirmative consent” before taking or diverting money from an employee’s paycheck.
Yet public employers in Minnesota are still deducting union dues, and unions are accepting dues, without getting proof of an employee’s “affirmative consent” in violation of Janus.
The Supreme Court’s ruling means that fair-share fee payers who were forced to pay money to a union before the Supreme Court’s ruling can sue to recover the money that was taken. Class action suits have been filed but more plaintiffs are welcome to join!
It also means that the various restrictions unions place on resigning from the union, like narrow opt-out windows, are being challenged. All government unions in Minnesota have membership terms that make it difficult to resign. These terms violate the ruling in Janus and the State of Minnesota is doing nothing to protect the First Amendment rights of public employees. And that is not going to change under Governor Walz.
This means employees must take action to protect their First Amendment freedoms and paychecks.
The Center is looking for more public employees who want remove barriers for all employees who wish to exercise their constitutional right to resign union membership.
Some unions have already honored resignations from employees after receiving a demand letter or after an employee filed suit. Employees all over the state are enjoying the fact that they are no longer subsidizing the left-wing agenda of their union. Why not you?
If you are interested in suing to recover the money that was unconstitutionally taken from you, or to challenge restrictions on your right to resign union membership, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and include the following information:
- Your name and contact information
- Whether you were a fair-share fee payer, or you are now a union member
- Whether you have resigned or tried to resign
- Your public employer
- Your workplace public-sector union
If you respond, you are in no way obligated to proceed with anything; we can walk you through the options.
We are looking for teachers, state and local government employees, and anyone else whose money was taken, or rights restricted, by a public-employee union.
Please forward this e-mail to anyone you know who might be interested in joining our litigation.
We have attorneys representing employees free of charge, so there will be no cost to you if you decide to proceed. If you have any other questions about the lawsuits, please do not hesitate to ask me. I look forward to hearing from you or your friends!
Sincerely,
Kim Crockett, Esq.
Kim Crockett is Director of the Center’s Employee Freedom Project. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 612.584.4563 (feel free to leave a detailed message).