Education unions and the state of Florida are scheduled to face off in court this October over a lawsuit challenging restrictions imposed on public employee unions by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has set an October 25 trial date for the lawsuit, which was filed last year by unions representing public school and university employees.
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The lawsuit targets a law passed in 2023, later revised, that banned government agencies from continuing the long-standing practice of deducting union dues directly from workers’ paychecks. The law also introduced changes to “membership authorization” forms and regulations affecting union recertification.
Last month, Judge Walker issued an 80-page decision largely siding with the state’s Public Employees Relations Commission, responsible for enforcing the restrictions.
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However, Walker determined that one aspect of the case merited a trial: the unions’ claim that the ban on paycheck deductions violates the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
This claim arises from existing collective bargaining agreements that included provisions for union dues to be deducted from employees’ paychecks.
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