LJC In The News
Federal Judge Strikes Down New Jersey Donor Disclosure Law
On March 11, Judge Brian R. Martinotti, of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, signed orders permanently barring New Jersey from enforcing a state law requiring select nonprofits to disclose identifying information about their donors. Multiple organizations challenged the law in court, including the American...
Alaska Workers Sue State, Union Over Alleged Janus Violation
(The Center Square)—Two state employees filed a federal lawsuit against the Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME Local 52 and Kelly Tshibaka, in her official capacity as Commissioner of Administration for the state of Alaska, alleging they violated the provisions established by the Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME ruling. The plaintiffs, Linda...
After Janus Ruling, Worker Asks Supreme Court for Return of Paid Union Dues
(Washington Times)—The Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus decision was a landmark in labor law, but now the namesake in the case would like the justices to go further. The high court ruled in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that public-sector employees cannot be forced to pay...
State Workers Sue Union over Forced Union Dues
(Must Read Alaska)—Two Alaska state employees filed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska and the Alaska State Employees Association today for forcing them to pay union dues against their will. According to the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court ruling, union dues cannot be deducted from state employees’ paychecks without...
Wednesday Round-Up
(SCOTUSblog)—According to Pete Williams of NBC News, “[t]he court disclosed Tuesday that [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor took herself off a case from Colorado involving a challenge to a state law directing how presidential electors must cast their votes, because of a personal friendship with one of the challengers.” At CNN, Ariane...
Janus, Whose Case Ended Mandatory Union Fees, Wants Supreme Court’s Help Getting Money Back
(Fox News)—The plaintiff whose 2018 case led to a Supreme Court ruling that mandatory public union agency fees for nonmembers were unconstitutional is now asking the high court to force the union that represented him to return a portion of the money it collected before that decision. In this most...
Union Foe Janus Wants High Court Return in Fee Dispute
(Law 360)—The ex-Illinois state worker who persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to let public-sector workers refuse to fund their unions urged the high court Monday to review a ruling that his union doesn’t have to return the possibly millions of dollars in fees it collected over the years. Mark Janus...
Janus Wants Round Two at the Supreme Court on Union Fee
(Bloomberg Law) — High court forbid mandatory fees in 2018 Unions have thus far won in fee refund cases A former Illinois government worker asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force a union to refund the money he paid in mandatory fees prior to the high court’s landmark case, saying...
Commentary: While Missouri Seeks to Free Public Employees, Illinois Traps Them with Pro-Union Law
(The Chicago Tribune)—What’s the best way to protect government workers? Don’t ask Illinois. Late last year, the Land of Lincoln passed a law that severely limits government workers’ freedom. It restricts their ability to opt out of union membership, despite clear guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet while Illinois...
Judge: School Choice Advocates Can Intervene in Voucher Case
(WVLT 8)—A Tennessee judge on Friday agreed to allow school choice advocates to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school voucher program. That means the Liberty Justice Center, the Institute for Justice and the Beacon Center of Tennessee will all have a chance to defend the...
Judge Pledges To Move Swiftly On TN Education Voucher Lawsuit
(Chalkbeat Tennessee)—A Nashville judge promised Friday to move expeditiously in the widening court battle over Tennessee’s new education savings account law as the state works to launch the program for the upcoming school year. Chancellor Anne C. Martin also indicated that she likely will allow three pro-voucher groups representing parents...
Both Sides Brandish First Amendment in Battle over Rhode Island Donor Disclosure Law
(Boston Globe)—Both sides enlist the First Amendment to make their case. Both sides talk about freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas. But the two sides draw diametrically opposed conclusions about a Rhode Island campaign finance law, passed in response to the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, requiring...
Groups Sue Toulouse Oliver over Donor Disclosure
(Santa Fe New Mexican)—Two conservative groups have sued New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in federal court in an effort to hide the identities of donors who fund political issue advertisements. The Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Foundation and Illinois Opportunity Project argue that a new state law requiring stricter...
Union Pressured Inver Hills College Clerk to Join, Lawsuit Says
(Star Tribune)—A Twin Cities community college employee is suing the union representing campus clerical workers and the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, alleging she was pressured to join the union without receiving sufficient information. The lawsuit against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council (AFSCME)...
Appeals Court to Decide if Unions Should Refund Illegal Fees
(Cook County Record)—The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is unconstitutional to require non-union state workers in Illinois to pay “fair share” fees to a union, but a Chicago federal appeals panel is considering whether a union must refund millions of dollars in fees already collected. The appeal was brought...