Under settlement, other Paragon DOJ security guards denied required information can claim refunds for years of union dues payments

Washington, DC (September 14, 2026) – Kywane Johnson, a security guard formerly employed by Paragon Systems at the Department of Justice (DOJ), has prevailed in his three-year dispute with Special Deputy Marshals of America (SDM) union officials. Johnson, who filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was vindicated when SDM union officials settled to head off a formal NLRB complaint for violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by not informing employees of their right to avoid paying for the union’s political activities.

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the NLRA, a task that includes adjudicating disputes between unions and individual employees.

Johnson’s charges were filed in 2023, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, after SDM union bosses repeatedly harassed Johnson for refusing to sign a “dual purpose” union membership card/dues check-off authorization, with union officials escalating by threatening his termination.

The charges detail the harassment occurring despite Johnson having “consistently paid the equivalent of full dues by check to the union since the beginning of his employment.” Once the charges were filed with the NLRB, the agency’s investigation revealed additional violations of employees’ rights by the union, including not informing employees of their Beck right to not pay for union political activities.

Union officials moved to settle with Johnson before the NLRB issued a complaint against the union for its violations of employee rights. Had the complaint been issued, SDM union officials would have faced prosecution for violating the law at an NLRB hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.

The settlement details are comprehensive, requiring the union to post, e-mail and text a 60-day notice, informing Paragon Systems workers that the SDM union will not threaten employees with termination for refusing union membership and/or dues deduction authorization.

Just as important, the settlement requires union officials to refund employees who assert their rights under the National Right to Work Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court CWA v. Beck decision to opt out of funding union politics, retroactively returning improperly seized dues or fees deducted since January 5, 2023.

The settlement also grants NLRB agents access (without notification) to DOJ facilities to confirm compliance.

“We are pleased to have aided Mr. Johnson in asserting his legal right against the bullying and badgering of union bosses,” stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Mr. Johnson not only defended his own rights, but obtained a remedy that allows his coworkers to assert their rights and claim refunds for illegally seized union payments going back to the beginning of 2023.

“Union bosses keeping workers they purport to ‘represent’ unaware of their legal rights is, unfortunately, a situation we see repeated all across the country, but it is especially prevalent in the 24 states that do not have Right to Work protections where union bosses can demand payments from employees as a condition of getting or keeping a job,” added Mix.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.