Federal Court is Asked to Hold Enforcement of Act 10 Order
By Ruder Ware Alumni
May 20, 2014
The Western Federal District Court, in a recent decision, held that several provisions of Wisconsin Act 10 were unconstitutional. The provisions included the section that required public unions to recertify every year by a majority vote of all employees eligible to vote to be in the union. The decision also struck down that provision of Wisconsin Act 10, which prohibited the deduction of voluntary dues payments from an employee paycheck.
Last week, the Wisconsin Attorney General, on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, sought a stay from the Federal Court judge of his order striking down provisions of Wisconsin Act 10. The Wisconsin Attorney General indicated that there will be an appeal of the district court decision and ask the judge to stop the enforcement of his order pending the appeal. It is unlikely that the Federal District judge will stay his order. As a result, the prohibition against annual recertification elections will likely stand. Further, public employers will be required to deduct dues from the paycheck of those employees that submit a voluntary dues statement.
What is not clear is whether those unions who chose to not seek recertification are not automatically deemed the bargaining representative for public employees that were in the union in the past. It is likely that this issue will be litigated further by the parties.
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