The Empire Center today sent a letter to state and local government employers across New York, pointing out their new obligations to non-union government employees under last week’s U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Janus v. AFSCME.

Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center, notes in the letter that the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in a constitutional challenge to the collection of “agency fees” in lieu of union dues from government employees who choose not to join unions.

“The language of the decision is not ambiguous,” Hoefer said. “Agency fees must end.”

Hoefer noted that state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has said he will comply with the ruling by ending withholding of agency fees on state employee paychecks.

“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,” 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.

Click here to read the full letter.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.