This is a special legal notice for individuals employed by the State of Ohio who are represented by the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME Local 11 (“OCSEA”). As a result of a recent settlement agreement, State employees can resign their membership in OCSEA and stop the deduction of union dues from their wages at any time by sending a resignation letter to OCSEA unless they sign a new union membership and dues deduction card.

In June 2018, the United States Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31 held it violates the First Amendment for a state to require that its employees pay dues or fees to a union. Unfortunately, the State of Ohio and OCSEA prohibited State employees from exercising their First Amendment rights under Janus by requiring that employees who were union members in May 2018 must remain dues-paying union members until February 2021.

Several state employees represented by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys filed a lawsuit challenging the State of Ohio’s and OCSEA’s “maintenance of membership” requirement. In a settlement agreement resolving the lawsuit, the State of Ohio and OCSEA agreed to rescind that requirement and to permit employees who had signed the union membership card at issue in the lawsuit to at any time resign their union membership and stop the deduction of union dues from their wages.

Specifically, the State of Ohio and OCSEA agreed:

The Union shall permit employees who are members of the Union pursuant to the version of the OCSEA membership application and authorization for payroll deduction in use under the Current [collective bargaining agreement], and who have not signed any subsequent membership application and authorization for payroll deduction, to resign their membership and revoke authorization for payroll deduction at any time upon submission of written notice to the Union at its principal office. The Union shall honor such resignations and revocations effective on the date received. Upon receiving notice of any such resignation and revocation, the Union shall provide timely notice of each such resignation and revocation to the Employer.

However, the settlement does not cover State employees who sign or have signed new OCSEA membership and dues deduction cards. OCSEA intends to solicit employees to sign new membership and dues deduction cards that purport to restrict when employees can stop the deduction of union dues from their wages.

In summary, if you are State of Ohio employee who wants to resign your OCSEA membership and stop the deduction of union dues from your wages:

If you signed a new membership and dues deduction card that purports to restrict when you can stop the deduction of union dues from their wages, you can contact the Foundation for free legal assistance at [https://www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid/].

Whether to resign your union membership is completely up to you. More information on the implications of resigning union membership can be found here: [https://www.nrtw.org/how-resign-public].