Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37

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Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37
Case number: 21-185
Status: Closed
Important dates
Filed: July 23, 2019
District court decision:
Oct. 13, 2020
Appeals court decision:
March 10, 2021
Supreme Court decision:
Oct. 4, 2021
District court outcome
The district court dismissed the case.
Appeals court outcome
The Second Circuit granted the defendant's motion for summary affirmance.
Supreme Court outcome
Certiorari denied.

This case is one of over a hundred public-sector union lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME. These pages were updated through February 2023 and may not reflect subsequent case developments. For more information about Ballotpedia's coverage of public-sector union policy in the United States, click here. Contact our team to suggest an update.

Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37 was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 10, 2021. After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, the plaintiff, Scott Solomon, had sought the return of union dues collected by the defendant, AFSCME District Council 37. The Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's October 2020 dismissal of the suit. The Supreme Court denied review of the case on October 4, 2021.[1][2][3][4][5]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The parties to the suit: The plaintiff was Scott Solomon, a city planner in New York City. The defendant was American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 37, AFL-CIO (AFSCME District Council 37).
  • The issue: In light of Janus v. AFSCME, the plaintiff filed a complaint seeking return of fees deducted from the plaintiff’s paycheck.
  • The presiding judges: Judge George Daniels presided over the case in the district court. A three-judge appellate panel included Second Circuit Judges Robert D. Sack, Richard Wesley, and Steven Menashi.
  • The outcome: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's dismissal of the suit. The Supreme Court denied review.

    • Procedural history

    The plaintiff was Scott Solomon, a city planner in New York City. He was represented by attorneys from Liberty Justice Center. The defendant was American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 37, AFL-CIO. They were represented by Robin I. Roach and attorneys from Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C.

    Below is a brief procedural history of the lawsuit:[1][2][3][6][4][5]

    • July 23, 2019: Plaintiff files a complaint seeking the return of union dues from AFSCME District Council 37, which had deducted dues from the plaintiff’s paychecks between July 23, 2016, and June 27, 2018, when the plaintiff had not elected to join AFSCME District Council 37.
    • September 9, 2019: Parties’ joint request for a stay of action is granted. All further proceedings in this case are delayed until a decision is reached by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001.
    • May 6, 2020: A decision is reached Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001and the stay of the proceedings ends.
    • May 8, 2020: Plaintiff files a motion to extend the stay of proceedings until Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001 is resolved by an en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
    • May 14, 2020: Plaintiff’s motion to extend the stay of proceedings is denied.
    • May 26, 2020: Defendant files a motion to dismiss the case.
    • October 13, 2020: Judge George Daniels grants the defendant's motion to dismiss the case.
    • November 13, 2020: Plaintiff appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
    • March 10, 2021: The Second Circuit grants the defendant's motion for summary affirmance.
    • August 6, 2021: Plaintiff appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • October 4, 2021: The Supreme Court denies review of the case.

    For a list of available case documents, click here.

    Decision

    On October 13, 2020, Judge George Daniels dismissed the case.[7] The plaintiff to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On March 10, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit—Judges Robert D. Sack, Richard Wesley, and Steven Menashi—granted the defendant's motion for summary affirmance, finding that "summary affirmance is appropriate because the issue on appeal was squarely resolved against the Appellant by this Court’s decision in Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001."[4]

    Legal context

    Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

    See also: Janus v. AFSCME

    On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus v. AFSCME), ruling that public-sector unions cannot compel non-member employees to pay fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities.[8]

    This decision overturned precedent established in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977. In Abood, the high court held that it was not a violation of employees' free-speech and associational rights to require them to pay fees to support union activities from which they benefited (e.g., collective bargaining, contract administration, etc.). These fees were commonly referred to as agency fees or fair-share fees.[8]

    Justice Samuel Alito authored the opinion for the court majority in Janus, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Alito wrote, "Abood was poorly reasoned. It has led to practical problems and abuse. It is inconsistent with other First Amendment cases and has been undermined by more recent decisions. Developments since Abood was handed down have shed new light on the issue of agency fees, and no reliance interests on the part of public-sector unions are sufficient to justify the perpetuation of the free speech violations that Abood has countenanced for the past 41 years. Abood is therefore overruled."[8]

    Related litigation

    To view a complete list of the public-sector labor lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked between 2019 and 2023, click here.

    Number of federal lawsuits by circuit

    Between 2019 and 2023, Ballotpedia tracked 191 federal lawsuits related to public-sector labor laws. The chart below depicts the number of suits per federal judicial circuit (i.e., the jurisdictions in which the suits originated).

    Public-sector labor lawsuits on Ballotpedia

    See also: Public-sector union policy in the United States, 2018-2023

    Click show to view a list of cases with links to our in-depth coverage.

    v • e
    Public-sector labor lawsuits
    Federal lawsuits

    Adams v. Teamsters Union Local 429 • Akers v. Maryland State Education Association • Aliser v. SEIU California • Allen v. Ohio Civil Service Employees Association • Allen v. Santa Clara County Correctional • Anderson v. SEIU Local 503 • Babb v. California Teachers Association • Baisley v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers • Belgau v. Inslee • Bennett v. AFSCME • Bermudez v. SEIU Local 521 • Bierman v. Dayton • Boudreaux v. Louisiana State Bar • Boyle v. SEIU California • Brice v. California Faculty Association • California v. Azar • Campos v. Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association • Carey v. Inslee • Casanova v. IAM Local 701 • Chandavong et al. v. Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association et al. • Cook v. Brown • Cooley v. California Statewide Law Enforcement Association • Crowe v. Oregon State Bar • Cruz v. Union Independiente Autentica de Empleados de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados • Danielson v. Inslee • Diamond v. Pennsylvania State Education Association • Doughty v. State Employees Association of New Hampshire, SEIU, Local 1984 • Durst v. OEA • Few v. United Teachers Los Angeles • File v. Hickey • Fischer v. Murphy • Fisk v. Inslee • Fizer v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees • Fleck v. Wetch • Grega v. Council of New Jersey State College Locals • Grossman v. Hawaii Government Employees Association • Gruber v. Oregon State Bar • Guppy v. City of Los Angeles • Halloran v. AFSCME Council 5 • Hamidi v. SEIU • Hannay v. Kent State • Hartnett v. Penn. State Education Association • Hendrickson v. AFSCME Council 18 • Hernandez v. AFSCME California • Hoekman v. Education Minnesota • Hough v. SEIU Local 521 • Imhoff v. California Teachers Association • Jackson v. Napolitano • James v. SEIU Local 688 • Janus v. AFSCME • Jarchow v. Wisconsin • Kabler v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1776 Keystone State • Wenzig v. SEIU Local 668 • Kopie v. International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees • Kurk v. Los Rios Classified Employees Association • Lamberty et al. v. Connecticut State Police Union et al. • LaSpina v. SEIU Pennsylvania State Council • Lee v. Ohio Education Association • Leitch v. AFSCME • Littler v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees • Loescher v. Teamsters Local 320 • Lutter v. JNESO • Mandel v. SEIU Local 73 • Marsh v. AFSCME Local 3299 • Martin v. California Teachers Association • Masuo v. AFSCME AFL-CIO • Matthews v. United Teachers of Los Angeles • Mattos v. AFSCME Council 3 • Mayer v. Wallingford-Swathmore School District • McCain v. Ventura County Federation of College Teachers, AFT Local 1828 • McCollum v. NEA-Alaska • McCutcheon v. CWA Local 7076 • McDonald v. Firth • Mendez v. CTA • Miller v. Inslee • Misja v. PSEA • Molina v. SEIU Local 668 • Mooney v. Illinois Education Association • Nearman v. SEIU Local 503 • Neely v. AFSCME Council 13 • Nguyen v. Admin. and Residual Employees Union • Nichols v. Home Care Providers Union • O'Callaghan v. Drake • Ochoa v. Public Consulting Group • Ocol v. Chicago Teachers Union • Ogle v. Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME, Local 11 • Oliver v. SEIU Local 668 • Pellegrino v. New York State United Teachers • Penning v. SEIU Local 1021 • Polk v. Yee • Popp v. ALPAI • Piekarski v. AFSCME Council 5 • Quirarte v. UDW AFSCME Local 3930 • Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine • Rizzo-Rupon v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 141 • Routh v. Inslee • Schaszberger v. AFSCME Council 13 • Schell v. Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices • Schumaker v. Inslee • Seager v. UTLA • Seidemann v. Professional Staff Congress • Smith v. AFSCME Council No. 8 • Smith v. New Jersey Education Association • Smith v. Bieker • Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37 • Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503 • Sweeney v. Raoul • Sweet v. California Association of Psychiatric Technicians • Taylor v. Heath • Thompson v. AFSCME Council 89, Local 4013 • Thompson v. Marietta Education Association • Thulen v. AFSCME • Uradnik v. Inter Faculty Org. • Utke v. University of Connecticut American Association of University Professors • Weyandt v. PSCOA • Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001 • Wilford v. National Education Association • Williams v. PSEA • Wolf v. University Professional & Technical Employees • Yates v. Hillsboro Unified School District • Yohn v. California Teachers Association

    See also

    External links

    Case documents

    Supreme Court

    Appeals court

    Trial court

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pacer Monitor, "Solomon v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 37, AFL-CIO," accessed September 10, 2020
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Liberty Justice Center, "SOLOMON V. AFSCME DC 37," accessed September 10, 2020
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 PacerMonitor, "Complaint," July 22, 2019
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 PacerMonitor, "Solomon v. American Federation of State," accessed September 27, 2021
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "No. 21-185," accessed October 4, 2021
    6. ↑ Liberty justice Center, "Letter Motion to Extend Stay," accessed September 10, 2020
    7. ↑ United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, "Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37: Order," October 13, 2020
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Supreme Court of the United States, Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al., June 27, 2018
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