Scholten Fant: Attorneys

Deduction of Union Dues Revisited – Yet Again

harvey — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:57:47 +0000

Act 53 of 2012 was filed on March 16 and given “immediate effect.” It prohibited a public school employer from payroll deduction and transmission (to the union) of union dues or service fees, unless required to do so under the terms of an unexpired collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

On April 2, the Ingham County Circuit Court issued a preliminary injunction which halted Act 53’s “immediate effect” while judicial challenges to it were pending. Therefore, the Act’s prohibition against the deduction of union dues became inapplicable, at least temporarily.

Most recently, however, on April 9, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the Ingham County Circuit Court’s preliminary injunction and reinstated Act 53’s “immediate effect,” while judicial challenges and appeals are pending. Therefore, public school employers should once again refrain from the payroll deduction of union dues or service fees unless obligated to do so pursuant to an existing and unexpired CBA.

There will obviously be further developments as the pending litigation progresses. If you have questions regarding this evolving issue in the meantime, however, please contact one of our school law attorneys.

Update: Act 53 (Recent Dues Legislation) Put on Hold

harvey — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:28:22 +0000

The Ingham County Circuit Court has just (on April 2, 2012) issued a preliminary injunction which essentially suspends Act 53’s “immediate effect.” Therefore, pending further developments, school districts are not currently prohibited from the payroll deduction of union dues by Act 53. Further judicial proceedings, and therefore further direction, will be forthcoming. In the meantime, however, Act 53 should for now be disregarded. Please contact any of our school law attorneys with any remaining questions.

Registration Now Open : Scholten Fant Annual School Law Workshop

harvey — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:30:35 +0000

Registration is now open for the Scholten Fant Annual School Law Workshop!

The Scholten Fant School Law Workshop will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2012
at the Grand Haven Community Center.

To preview the Workshop Agenda, click here.

Register for the Workshop :
[contact-form]
You will receive a confirmation of your electronic registration within 3 business days.

For additional information about this event, please send an email to registration@scholtenfant.com

NEW LAW PROHIBITS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM COLLECTING UNION DUES

harvey — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:53:52 +0000

Governor Snyder recently signed into law an amendment to the Public Employee Relations Act (“PERA”) that prohibits public school districts from collecting union dues or service fees. As you may know, PERA historically prohibited a public employer, as well as an officer or an agent of a public employer, from initiating, creating, dominating, contributing to or interfering with the formation or administration of any labor organization. The new law, Public Act 53 of 2012, amends PERA, to specifically indicate: “A public school employer’s use of public school resources to assist a labor organization in collecting dues or service fees from wages of public school employees is a prohibited contribution to the administration of a labor organization.”

While the new law takes immediate effect, there is a provision that allows a public school employer to continue to collect union dues and service fees pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that was in effect on March 16, 2012, up until that collective bargaining agreement expires, or is terminated, extended or renewed.

For school districts in the process of negotiating an expired contract, the school district should immediately cease collecting dues or service fees under the expired contract. This should be accomplished with the next payroll process following March 16, 2012. The school district should also consider giving the union prior notice of its intent to comply with the law as a matter of common professional courtesy.

Please note the prohibition on collecting union dues will likely be subjected to a legal challenge, especially since it singles out schools as opposed to being applied to all public employers. We’ll keep you posted on the outcome of any such legal challenge.

If you have any questions regarding the effects of this new law, or any other school law issue, please contact one of our school law attorneys.

Michael Bevins
John Lepard
Daniel Martin

SAVE THE DATE! SCHOLTEN FANT ANNUAL SCHOOL LAW WORKSHOP

harvey — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:07:11 +0000

Please join us on Thursday, April 26, 2012 for the Scholten Fant Annual School Law Workshop. The workshop will be located in the Mackinaw Ballroom, Grand Haven Community Center, 421 Columbus Avenue, Grand Haven, Michigan. More information on topics and how to register will be available coming soon! To be added to our mailing list, please send an e-mail to: registration@scholtenfant.com.

Bradley J. Fisher Becomes Shareholder

harvey — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:52:25 +0000

Scholten Fant is pleased to announce that Bradley J. Fisher has become a Shareholder of the firm. Mr. Fisher will continue to practice in our Grand Haven office.

Contracting Out OT/PT Services Requires Collective Bargaining

harvey — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:49:31 +0000

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently ruled in Pontiac School District v Pontiac Education Association that occupational therapists and physical therapists provide instructional support services, and therefore decisions to contract with a third party to provide such OT and/or PT services are not prohibited subjects of bargaining. [Click here to read the complete opinion.] If you would like more clarification regarding this case, or have questions related to any aspect of school law, including special education services or collective bargaining, please contact one of the members of our School Law Group.

Tenure Reform Legislative Update: August 18, 2011

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:51:38 +0000

Presented by Scholten Fant School Law Attorneys

August 18, 2011

Grand Haven Community Center
421 Columbus Avenue, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417 • 616.842.2550

Scholten Fant is hosting two workshops to discuss the effects of the recent legislative changes. The same content will be covered in each workshop. Attend the one that best fits your schedule.

Session I – 8:30 am to 11:30 am

Registration Begins at 8:00 am

Session II – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Registration Begins at 12:30 pm

Topics Include But Are Not Limited To:

Tenure Reform – “Arbitrary and Capricious”
Revised School Code – Evaluations for Effectiveness
Collective Bargaining Reform – Seven New Prohibited Subjects of Bargaining
These workshops are offered at no charge for our retainer clients for up to two attendees. The fee for additional attendees for retainer clients is $25 each, and for non-retainer attendees is $50 each.

Registration for this event is closed

Please see our Resources pages for other information that relates to our events.

OSE-EIS to Conduct Public Hearing to Receive Input on Monitoring Standards for Special Education

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:39:07 +0000

The Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services, has issued an Amended Notice of Public Hearing regarding the current draft Monitoring Standards for Special Education. You may obtain a copy of the Amended Public Notice and Monitoring Standards at the following link: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-6530_6598-260373–,00.html

The MDE will be receiving public comment via fax, email or in written form until September 23, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. This is an amended date. It is important that school districts provide comments to the MDE as they devise the standards that school districts will be required to follow. Please be sure to provide your comments by that date.

US Department of Education Issues Final Part C Regulations Under IDEA

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:22:06 +0000

On September 6, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education released the final regulations for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The final Part C regulations incorporate the 2004 amendments to Part C of the IDEA, and have been pending since 2007. These regulations will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The US DOE indicates that the regulations will be published in the Federal Register in the next few weeks. A pre-publication version of the regulations can be accessed on the US DOE’s website for download in either a Word format or pdf format:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/news.html

In addition, the U.S. Department of Education has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) with respect to certain regulations implementing Part B of the IDEA. Specifically, the Department intends to issue proposed regulations regarding when a state or local educational agency seeks to use a child’s or parent’s public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for Part B services. The NPRM can be accessed on the US DOE’s website through the same link as the Part C regulations.