Case

Oliver v. SEIU

No one should be forced to pay dues to a government union against their will.

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 to her city is important. She feels like she makes an impact through her work. However, she was forced to pay a government union, SEIU Local 668, in order to work for the Commonwealth.

All that changed with the decisive victory for workers’ rights in the U.S. Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision in June 2018. Oliver was hopeful that she would finally be able to resign from SEIU and stop the union dues that cost her about $50 each month.

Unfortunately, despite the Supreme Court ruling, the Commonwealth continued deducting union dues from Oliver’s paycheck for nearly six months after she demanded the deductions stop and resigned from SEIU Local 668.

After multiple attempts to stop the union dues deductions on her own, Oliver turned to attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center for help

Hear Shalea’s story in her own words here.

Read more about Shalea’s story on Stand With Workers.

Attorneys

Jeffrey Schwab

Jeffrey M. Schwab

Jeffrey M. Schwab is a Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.

Case Press Releases

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Case In The News

Philadelphia Inquirer
April 18, 2019

(Philadelphia Inquirer)—I recently sued my union. It’s not something I ever expected to do. But I also never thought an organization that claims to champion workers’ rights would deny me the opportunity to exercise mine. I’ve been working as an income maintenance caseworker for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 2014....

The Philadelphia Inquirer
March 11, 2019

(Philadelphia Inquirer)—Shalea Oliver had been trying to leave her union for more than a year when she found a website offering help. It had a template resignation letter that she could send to her union, SEIU Local 668, and a form to fill out if the letter wasn’t effective, which...

The Center Square
March 3, 2019

(The Center Square)—Pennsylvania lawmakers were warned last fall that if the state didn’t amend its laws to comply with the terms of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Janus v. AFSCME ruling, the result could be a host of legal complications. That warning is now ringing true. The nonprofit Liberty Justice...

Case Documents

ABOUT

NAME

Oliver v. SEIU

FILED

February 28, 2019

COURT

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

STATUS

Closed

Media

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