David Schaszberger, worked for the state of Pennsylvania as a statistical analyst with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry for 10 years. During his time as a state employee, he was never a member of the government union, yet he was forced to pay AFSCME more than $4,000 in…
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In April 2019, Daniel Suhr, an associate senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, submitted a request to the New York Department of Civil Service for basic payroll information for public employees. In his role as an attorney at a public-interest law firm, Suhr sought to provide New York state…
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The Liberty Justice Center has partnered with the nation’s foremost advocacy organization for school choice — the American Federation for Children (AFC) — to file a joint amicus brief supporting three Montana families in their appeal for equal treatment in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The brief asks the…
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In June 2019, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a proposal known as S150. The law places reporting and disclosure requirements on 501(c)4 and 527 advocacy groups, but not business groups or unions. The organizations identified by the law must now register with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement…
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In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it is illegal to require public employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment. In September 2019, Maryland state employees forced to pay these fees prior to the Court’s decision filed a lawsuit, Mattos et al., v. AFSCME Council 3, demanding…
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Americans’ right to support causes they believe in without fear of retaliation is at the center of Illinois Opportunity Project v Bullock filed August 27, 2019, against Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and the head of that state’s procurement bureau. In 2018, Governor Bullock issued an executive order that requires companies…
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For decades, Pennsylvania required state employees who were not union members to pay hundreds of dollars a year in “agency fees” to government unions. However, in 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME ended the practice of requiring government employees to fund government unions as a condition…
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Colleen Stroeder has worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) as an executive support specialist since 2008. Upon starting her position, Stroeder’s supervisor led her to believe that she was required to join SEIU Local 503 and pay union dues. After the Supreme Court’s June 2018 decision in Janus…
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Schuyler File is a private attorney who works and resides in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Since he began practicing there in December 2017, the State Bar Association of Wisconsin has required him to be a member and pay mandatory membership dues. File previously practiced in Indiana, a state that does not…
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Bill Osmulski is a seasoned Capitol news reporter for the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and news service based in Madison, Wisconsin. As credentialed members of the Capitol press corps, Osmulski and other MacIver News Service reporters regularly have access to state legislators and…
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Mike Jackson and Tory Smith are transportation services workers at the University of California, San Diego. They work on the parking staff to support school events and maintain safety on campus. As new hires at the University – Tory in 2006 and Mike in 2013 – both joined the government…
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The Liberty Justice Center filed a class action lawsuit on July 23, 2019, against AFSCME District Council 37 seeking a refund of illegal union fees plaintiff Scott Solomon and other city employees paid from July 23, 2016, through June 27, 2018. If successful, approximately 7,000 New York City government employees…
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In May 2019, Isaac Wolf filed a federal lawsuit against his employer, the Regents of the University of California, and University Professional & Technical Employees Communications Workers of America Local 9119 for violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association. Wolf began…
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On May 1, 2019, nine workers in Illinois government filed a federal class action lawsuit against AFSCME, demanding the union return money taken from their paychecks for union “agency” or “fair share” fees before the Court’s June 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. If successful, these workers and more than…
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Annamarie Hannay, Adda Gape and John Kohl are custodians for student residence halls at Kent State University. Since they started working at the university, they were required to pay money to AFSCME, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Several months after the Supreme Court ruling in Janus v.
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Susan Bennett has worked for the Moline-Coal Valley School District since 2009. Since then she has been required to pay either membership dues or non-member fees to AFSCME Local 672. But in June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Janus v. AFSCME that mandatory…
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Alfred Sweet is a psychiatric technician at Atascadero State Hospital in Paso Robles. Sweet joined the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians when he started working at the hospital in 2011 and began making requests to resign and become an agency fee payer in 2014. Those requests were denied. After the…
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Two University of California workers filed a federal lawsuit alleging union dues were illegally deducted from their paychecks. Cara O’Callaghan has worked as the finance manager of the Sport Club program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, since 2009. Jenée Misraje has worked as an administrative assistant at the…
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Shalea Oliver has worked as an income maintenance caseworker for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services since 2014. In her position, she helps a variety of people, including the under or unemployed, disabled and other vulnerable populations in Philadelphia. As a Philadelphia native, service…
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Four mental health workers in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, tried for months to quit their government union, Teamsters Local 429, with no success. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that it is unconstitutional to require government workers to pay…
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In January 2019, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Grossman, an employee of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, against the University and the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA) for refusing to allow her to resign union membership. Ms. Grossman has…
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In December 2018, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Illinois school district employee Erich Mandel against his government union, SEIU Local 73 and his employer, Community Consolidated School District 15, for violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association.
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In November 2018, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of New Mexico state employee Brett Hendrickson against his government union, AFSCME, and the state of New Mexico for violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association. Despite the…
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In November 2018, the Liberty Justice Center and California Policy Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of special education teacher Thomas Few against the United Teachers of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District for violating Few’s First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association. Despite…
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Individuals, corporations, unions and political parties can give unlimited amounts of money to political candidates, but independent expenditure groups cannot, creating an uneven playing field.
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This case began in February 2016 after David Cooke, a Streator resident, filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections alleging that the Committee for Frank J. Mautino violated the Illinois Election Code. Attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center have provided free legal representation to Cooke in…
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Chicago's ban on advertisements in and on ridesharing vehicles – but not in or on taxis and other vehicles – violates drivers' and advertisers' constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection.
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Chicago has imposed some of the nation's most extreme restrictions on people's ability to share their homes through online platforms such as Airbnb. We're challenging the law for violating homeowners' constitutional rights.
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The Liberty Justice Center is challenging an Illinois law that guarantees some voters – but not others – the right to register to vote at their local polling places on Election Day.
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In December 2015, the village of Lincolnshire, Illinois, sought to protect worker freedom and boost the local economy by becoming the first municipality in the state – and one of the first local governments in the U.S. – to enact a local "Right-to-Work" ordinance. The Liberty Justice Center is defending the law against a union lawsuit challenging it.
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In 2015, Chicago enacted the nation's first tax on streaming entertainment services such as Netflix and Spotify. We're challenging Chicago's amusement tax because it violates the Illinois Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and federal law.
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WE WON! In a major victory for First Amendment rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government workers can no longer be required to pay a union as a condition of working in public service. Learn more about Janus v. AFSCME and what it means for you.
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Should a local government be allowed to ruin a long-existing business if it decides it doesn’t like a sign that’s been on the business’s property for decades?
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Illinois shouldn't be allowed to use campaign finance rules to favor some donors and candidates over others.
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