California Governor, Public Employees Unions Among Defendants in ‘Agency Shop’ Class Action Over Union Membership

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The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and California Association of Law Enforcement Employees (CALEE) are among the defendants in a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a former union member who alleges the parties’ policy of deducting dues from public employees’ paychecks as a condition of employment is unconstitutional. The 20-page lawsuit, which in addition to the unions names as defendants California Governor Edmund G. Brown, State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and four members of the California Public Employment Relations Board, charges CSLEA and CALEE have established an unlawful “agency shop” by compelling those who have “clearly and unequivocally” communicated their desire to terminate their union membership and union-related payroll deductions to remain with and pay money to the organizations.

The lawsuit looks to cover three potential classes consisting of: 

-    All public employees who were compelled to subsidize the CSLEA or its affiliates against their wishes, namely those who refused to join the union and paid “fair share service fees,” those who joined the union because they were unaware of their constitutional right to decline membership, and employees who joined CSLEA “reluctantly” and would never have joined barring the condition of employment provision;

-    Public employees who resigned or attempted to resign as members of CSLEA or its affiliates yet continued to have union dues deducted from their paychecks after the union “refused to honor their resignation or defied their instructions to stop tapping their paycheck”; and

-    All employees in bargaining units represented by CSLEA or its affiliates who want to resign their membership or terminate financial support, would choose to leave the union and end financial support if they were informed of their right to do so, and who would decline to opt into the union after affirming they had been fully informed of their constitutional rights.