Today, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled favorably on an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association related to SB 256 and the payroll deduction portion of the bill.

In this particular federal case, the DeSantis Administration sought to override the US Constitution’s protection of contracts by forcing PERC (the Public Employees relations Commission) to call an immediate end to payroll deduction which was protected in existing contracts.

Today, Judge Walker has ruled that “the payroll deduction ban as applied to the remaining Union Plaintiffs with CBAs violates the Contracts Clause” and further, that “prohibition on the collection of union dues through payroll deductions, as applied to Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association’s and Hernando United School Workers’ existing collective bargaining agreements, is unconstitutional.”

“We are glad that with this order, Judge Walker ruled in favor of workers everywhere,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association. “When SB 256 went into law, we knew that the goal was to disrupt the constitutional right our teachers and education staff professionals have to be represented by a union. This ruling reaffirms that collective bargaining agreements are contracts that need to be respected. Over and over again Governor DeSantis and anti-worker, anti-public education politicians have tried to dismantle our teachers’ unions. And over and over again teachers, staff, students, parents and communities have come together to reaffirm their support for educators and for public education. We will not stop fighting for the rights of workers in our state and look forward to continuing to advocate for our students.”