Buckeye Reporter

Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute has initiated legal proceedings on behalf of Matthew Sheldon, a resident of Carrollton, Ohio. The lawsuit targets the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 541. The institute demands that the union cease what it describes as "illegal wage theft" from Sheldon's paycheck following his resignation from the union. This case, known as Sheldon v. OAPSE, was filed in the Carroll County Court of Common Pleas.

Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute, expressed concern over the ongoing actions by government unions post-Janus ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. He stated: “It is unconscionable that more than six years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Janus ruling, government unions continue to use a legal sleight of hand to deny hardworking public employees their First Amendment rights.” Carson added that all Sheldon desires is for OAPSE to stop deducting money from his paycheck and return funds taken since his departure from the union.

Sheldon has worked diligently at Carrollton Exempted Village Schools for nearly ten years. In December 2023, he decided to leave the government union and requested cessation of dues deductions based on his Janus rights under the First Amendment.

Despite an initial delay in response from OAPSE until April 2024 when they stopped deductions temporarily, they resumed them in May 2024 while acknowledging Sheldon's right to resign from the union. Union officials maintained that while Sheldon could quit membership, stopping paycheck deductions was not within his rights according to their interpretation.

The Buckeye Institute's lawsuit seeks court intervention for several outcomes: halting further paycheck deductions; refunding deducted amounts post-resignation; issuing an injunction against future dues collections; and affirming Ohio courts' jurisdiction over union contract disputes.

Further details on this case can be accessed at BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.