Fiscally conservative think tank the Empire Center for Public Policy sent a letter Tuesday to state and local public employers across New York urging them to quickly comply with new obligations as a result of the Janus S. AFSCME Supreme Court ruling.
The center pointed out there were “immediate implications” of the decision that employer cannot deduct fees for state and public sector-unions from employees who have not consented to pay. Union leaders have decried the ruling as a major setback for the labor movement across the country.
Regardless, the Empire Center said the language of the ruling is not ambiguous.
“As we celebrate another Independence Day, complying with the Janus ruling is a way for public employers to protect the newly clarified First Amendment rights of government employees,” Executive Director Tim Hoefer said. “Prompt compliance also will protect taxpayers from having to absorb the costs of any employee litigation that might otherwise needlessly result from the continued collection of agency fees.”
Hoefer also noted state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has said he will comply with the ruling starting this month. Other local governments, like Erie County and Buffalo, said they are currently looking at how to proceed.