The federal class-action lawsuit, Mattos v. AFSCME Council 3, seeks to recoup “agency” fees paid by Maryland state employees before the US Supreme Court ruled the mandatory fees were unconstitutional.
This article first appeared September 4, 2019 on Herald Mail Media.
A Washington County man is leading a class-action lawsuit which aims to return roughly $7 million in union fees Maryland state employees were forced to pay.
Hagerstown resident Gary Mattos, a correctional dietary officer employed by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, is the lead plaintiff in Mattos et al. v. AFSCME Council 3, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Wednesday by attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
“I’m hoping for some kind of money to be returned,” Mattos said, adding the lawsuit is more of a personal issue.
“It boils down to I wasn’t asked,” Mattos said. “(AFSCME) did it unilaterally, without my consent. … It would be a different story if they asked.”
Attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation also worked on Janus v. AFSCME Council 3, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 27, 2018, that it is unlawful to take any dues after someone expresses that he or she wants to decline union membership. Nonunion workers cannot be required to pay fees to public-sector unions.
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