Federal Judge Refuses to Block Public-Employee Union Law
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker declined to issue a preliminary injunction, ruling that the Florida Education Association and other unions had not shown they had legal standing.
June 27, 2023 at 11:55 AM
4 minute read
A federal judge refused to block key parts of a new Florida law that places additional restrictions on public-employee unions, turning down a request from teachers unions that argue the law violates First Amendment and contract rights.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker declined to issue a preliminary injunction, ruling that the Florida Education Association and other unions had not shown they had legal standing. The 12-page ruling came after Walker held a more than three-hour hearing Friday.
The unions sought the injunction against parts of the law that require union members to fill out new government-worded membership forms and prevent union dues from being deducted from workers' paychecks.
The FEA and three other unions contend that the membership-form requirement violates First Amendment rights because it would compel them to provide government messages to workers about issues such as Florida being a right-to-work state. But Walker wrote that the law does not require unions to spread government messages.
"[The] challenged provision commands employees who desire to join a union to sign and date the government-drafted form," Walker wrote. "That they must do so 'with the bargaining agent' does not mean the bargaining agent must disseminate the form, post the state's message, or otherwise communicate any message on the state's behalf."
Walker acknowledged that unions likely would play a major role in distributing the forms, at least in part because of another part of the law that will require unions to be recertified as bargaining agents if fewer than 60 percent of eligible employees are members.
"But while this may be the most effective and convenient way for plaintiffs to ensure their members sign and date the forms in compliance with the new requirements, the law itself does not command plaintiffs to take this action," the ruling said. "Moreover, by the terms of the statute, plaintiffs are not directly penalized if they fail to convey the state's message to members through the required form."
The unions, which filed the underlying lawsuit in May, also contend that the prohibition on dues being deducted from workers' paychecks unconstitutionally violates already-existing contracts. Those contracts require payroll dues deductions.
But Walker, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama, said issuing an injunction against that part of the law would "offer no redress for plaintiffs' injuries."
The lawsuit is filed against members of the state Public Employees Relations Commission, which is responsible for carrying out the law. But Walker said that even if he issued an injunction against the members of the commission, government agencies would comply with the law and stop deducting dues from paychecks.
"Employers who are party to plaintiffs' collective bargaining agreements will still be prohibited by law from deducting membership dues from their employees' salaries, regardless of whether this court enjoins defendants [Public Employees Relations Commission members] from enforcing the prohibition against employers," Walker wrote. "This might be a different case had plaintiffs submitted evidence demonstrating that employers intended to comply with their collective bargaining agreements if this court were to enjoin defendants. But plaintiffs' evidence demonstrated the opposite — their employers have communicated that they intend to follow state law and cease payroll deductions for voluntary membership dues by July 1, 2023, without any mention of PERC [the commission] or what effect an injunction against PERC would have on their decision to cease payroll deductions."
Union members from across the state came to Tallahassee this spring to fight a bill (SB 256) that included the restrictions. But the Republican-controlled House and Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the measure, immediately leading to the federal lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association, the United Faculty of Florida and unions representing employees of the Alachua County school district and the University of Florida.
Walker's ruling Monday does not end the lawsuit, but it allows the law to move forward.
Meanwhile, Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on a request for a preliminary injunction by unions representing municipal workers in South Florida. That challenge argues, in part, that the law violates collective-bargaining rights under the Florida Constitution.
The law applies to most public-employee unions but exempts unions representing law-enforcement officers, correctional officers and firefighters, which have supported DeSantis and other Republicans politically.
DeSantis and teachers unions have repeatedly clashed about education policies, and the Florida Education Association was a key supporter last year of DeSantis' election opponent, Democrat Charlie Crist.
Jim Saunders reports for the News Service of Florida.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Serious Disruptions'?: Federal Courts Brace for Government Shutdown Threat
3 minute readDivided State Court Reinstates Dispute Over Replacement Vehicles Fees
5 minute readSecond Circuit Ruling Expands VPPA Scope: What Organizations Need to Know
6 minute read'They Got All Bent Out of Shape:' Parkland Lawyers Clash With Each Other
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250