Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees

Courts have jurisdiction over cases and controversies. This is a hallmark of proper government and a safeguard of our rights. Despite this, an Ohio appeals court has effectively ruled that certain contract disputes with unions are unreviewable, creating a remedial vacuum. The Liberty Justice Center joined the Freedom Foundation, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and Mackinac Center for Public Policy in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court of Ohio to correct this untenable ruling.

Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees involves an employee challenging his union’s dues deduction agreement. Traditionally, this is a type of claim courts resolve under ordinary principles of contract law. Yet, in this case, Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals found that jurisdiction belongs instead with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB).

SERB derives its power from R.C. Chapter 4117, which authorizes it to address unfair labor practices. But SERB has no power to adjudicate common-law contract disputes, meaning employees sent to SERB with those claims may be left without a tribunal capable of deciding them. This decision creates a remedial vacuum for contract claims. In addition, Chapter 4117 does not state that it deprives Ohio courts of jurisdiction over such cases and thus should not be interpreted as doing so.

“Public employees should not lose their right to challenge the validity of a contract simply because a union is involved,” said Jeffrey Schwab, Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center. “Ohio workers deserve access to a court that can hear and decide ordinary questions of contract law. The Ohio Supreme Court should make clear that employees are not left without a meaningful forum to vindicate those rights.”

Regardless of the merits of the plaintiff’s case, there must be a forum for it to be heard and properly decided. This is a foundational principle the Liberty Justice Center, alongside the other amici urges the Supreme Court of Ohio to protect.