A federal judge has sided with the Florida Education Association in litigation over a provision of a state law enacted last year, finding that a prohibition on payroll deductions in existing public-employee collective bargaining agreements (CRAs) is unconstitutional.
Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida issued a decision Nov. 6 enjoining the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) from enforcing Senate Bill 256’s ban on payroll deductions for most public-sector unions. That portion of the law violates the Constitution’s contracts clause, Walker concluded.
Specifically, the court found that the ban on payroll deductions violated the rights of two plaintiffs, the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and Hernando United School Workers, whose existing CRAs were impaired by the law.
“Even if this court employed the customary deference to legislative decision making usually reserved for judging the impairment of private contracts, the payroll deduction ban, as enacted, is not a reasonable way to advance the proffered legitimate public purpose,” Walker said in his opinion
The ruling indicates that a payroll deduction ban in an existing contract might be legal if there were an unexpected fiscal emergency or some sort of crisis affecting the respective public agencies. But Walker said he found no evidence that the Florida Legislature acted on a sudden change of circumstances when it applied the ban to existing CBAs prior to their expiration.
“The payroll deduction ban is not a reasonable impairment of contracts because it impairs the parties’ existing bargained-for CBAs before they expire without justification,” Walker said.
The district court decision capped ongoing litigation over multiple sections of SB 256. The court previously dismissed several counts argued by attorneys for the public-employee unions.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) referred to the new law as a “union-busting” measure and said the court decision would protect existing CBAs whose provisions include mandatory payroll deductions for union dues.
“We are glad that with this order, Judge Walker ruled in favor of workers everywhere,” Andrew Spar, the FEA president, said in a statement emailed to the Florida Record. “When SB 256 went into law, we knew that the goal was to disrupt the constitutional right (that) our teachers and education staff professionals have to be represented by a union. This ruling reaffirms that collective bargaining agreements are contracts that need to be respected.”
The FEA official also criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing the measure into law, contending that he has been attempting to undermine teachers unions’ power in the state.
“... Over and over again teachers, staff, students, parents and communities have come together to reaffirm their support for educators and for public education,” Spar said. “We will not stop fighting for the rights of workers in our state and look forward to continuing to advocate for our students.”
The court’s permanent injunction on the payroll deduction provision of the law will remain in effect until the expiration of the Pinellas and Hernando CRAs, the order states.
Other public-employee unions were initially involved in the lawsuit, including the Alachua County Education Association, United Faculty of Florida and United Faculty of Florida at the University of Florida. But their positions were found to lack legal standing because their contracts expired before Walker’s decision was handed down.