Current and former state workers employed by the state and represented by a union as of November 17, 2002 (when Rowland made his first unlawful layoff threat) are eligible to participate in the settlement. Affected employees are advised to contact their local union leadership for details on relief for the economic losses they may be entitled to recover under the agreement.
Click here to access a “questions and answers” document with more info on the settlement and how it will be finalized by the state legislature and a federal court judge.
The settlement follows a 2013 federal appeals court decision finding that Rowland and his budget chief Marc Ryan in 2003 illegally discriminated against union employees when ordering nearly 3,000 layoffs. The ruling upheld the position of state unions that the job cuts were coercive and punitive, and not an attempt to balance the state’s budget as claimed by Rowland’s administration.
Click here for our June, 2013 update on the federal appeals court decision.
When any elected official punishes people for the group to which they belong — whether it be a union, a religion, or a political party — they show disdain for the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs who stepped forward represented their union sisters and brothers in a fight for basic, fundamental rights all Americans are entitled to and depend on for a healthy democracy.
