(Image source from: www.cleveland.com)

A "right-to-work" advocacy group has threatened to launch a class-action suit against Ohio and 19 else states if they fail to instantly halt deducting union dues from non-union public employees paychecks following a recent the United States Supreme Court ruling.

The Ohio agency that handles payroll for state employees has not taken any action up to now in consequence to the court's June 27 decision in Janus v. AFSCME that public employees can't be constrained to still pay union fees even if they are not in the union.

However, Ohio's ample union for state employees said no matter when the state acts, they will make sure workers who are not union members won't pay any dues after June 27.

In a July 2 letter to Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Vice President Raymond LaJeunesse stated that unless there is an "immediate cessation" of union-due collections from state workers who are not a union member, the group will record a civil-rights lawsuit on behalf of any non-union workers who request the group's aid.

The Virginia-based foundation, which represented the litigants in the Janus case, conveyed similar letters to 19 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, that (like Ohio) don't have state-level "right to work" laws on the books.

A spokesman for Mandel's office referred comment to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, which handles payroll for state employees.

DAS spokesman Tom Hoyt said the department has so far taken no steps to stop collecting union dues from non-members. "We are reviewing the decision and haven't made final plans," Hoyt said, adding it's not clear right now when the department might make final plans. "I mean, there's no rush," he said.

By Sowmya Sangam