Judge Tosses Lawsuit Challenging Right-To-Work Law
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - An Ingham County judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Michigan's right-to-work law.
The Lansing State Journal reports that Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina rejected the suit on Monday because it should have been filed directly with the state Court of Appeals. She didn't rule on the underlying legal challenge.
The right-to-work law takes effect in late March, making it illegal to require financial support of a union as a condition of employment.
Union activist Robert Davis sought an injunction to prevent the law from applying to state workers because they're under the purview of the Michigan Civil Service Commission.
"The lawsuit was addressing the question of whether or not the Right to Work legislation would be applicable to service employees," Davis said. "And it was determined that the Civil Service employees would not be affected by the Right to Work legislation, as admitted on the record by their attorney."
Davis said he does not plan to re-file his lawsuit.
A separate lawsuit filed by the ACLU and a coalition of labor unions continues to move through the Ingham County Court. It seeks to void the right-to-work laws over alleged violations of Michigan's open meetings act.
"This particular lawsuit in no way impacts any of the lawsuits in which the coalition of unions have going forth and I think they will be successful considering their constitutional challenges," Davis said.
(Catch up on the right-to-work issue here).
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