Fair Share Agency Fees Struck Down by the United States Supreme Court
June 27, 2018 | Scott M. LepakIn a decision widely expected, the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2018 struck down state laws that compelled public sector union employees to pay “fair share” or “agency” dues. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court held that laws compelling these dues from unwilling members violated the First Amendment by requiring employees to, in effect, pay for speech with which they do not agree. The Supreme Court held that unions representing public employees have to fairly represent these employees regardless of whether they were dues paying members. The Supreme Court summarized its view as follows: Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmember’s wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay. What’s next: Laws, including Minnesota Statute Section 179A.06, Subd. 3, that require fair share fees to be taken from an employee’s pay check are unconstitutional. Employers must stop current automatic fair share payment withdrawals from the checks of employees unless and until the employee fills out a form consenting to pay. Employees who opt out of paying dues will still be covered by the collective bargaining agreements. However, unions will likely address the issue of individuals who do not…
Read MoreSunday Liquor Sales in Minnesota
April 3, 2017 | Scott M. LepakAs a Wisconsin to Minnesota transplant over 30 years ago, I am periodically reminded of how unique Wisconsin and its citizens really are when viewed from outside its borders. One of my law partners recently told me her Scottish husband was in Louisiana, and a local there, on hearing his accent, asked if he was from Wisconsin. Yesterday my mom and dad were eating lunch in the grocery store deli area in Wausau Wisconsin when a group of school kids arrived with their teachers. Obviously a field trip, the teachers ushered the kids toward the fruit section to explain the different fruits and vegetables. In the course of the discussion it was apparent that the kids were drifting off to look at the fresh donut section. After lunch, my mom went back to the car and was waiting for my dad to finish up shopping. She saw him laughing to himself when he was walking across the parking lot. When he got back to the car, she asked him what was so funny. He said the kids were now heading toward the cold beer display and wondered if the liquor store was part of the tour. My parents decided that the kids must go grocery shopping with their dad. Minnesota may never quite…
Read MoreBGS Bass Fishermen on Mille Lacs 2015
June 1, 2015 | Scott M. LepakThe Barna, Guzy & Steffen bass fishing team of Bill Huefner and Scott Lepak was back at it for the first time in 2015. Bill and Scott were joined by Bill’s brother Tom from Columbus Ohio. Tom was spending his last day before his official retirement on the lake. While Mille Lacs has had more than its share of bad publicity on walleyes, it remains a lake that offers monster smallmouth bass opportunities. The changes in weather systems and the cold water temperature for the last Friday in May made for prospects on Lake Mille Lacs that were as dim as the sky overhead. Using the theory that you can’t catch a bass while sitting in your office, we set out with our trusty guide Wyatt. It didn’t take long for us to discover that bass were not hard to locate because they were still sitting on their spawning beds. Unfortunately they were not budging off the beds to attack anything we put in front of them. As dedicated catch and release enthusiasts, we discussed the fact that it is hard to release a fish that you don’t catch. The day produced two smallmouth and one rock bass and one loon that appeared to want to spend the day next to our boat….
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