Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of David Krizon, a bus driver with the Minerva Local Schools in Minerva, Ohio, who continues to have money illegally taken out of his paycheck by his employer and given to a government union. Buckeye filed Krizon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.

“One would think that government unions would stop the type of game-playing that Mr. Krizon has experienced and simply acknowledge and honor the rights of workers who have ended their union membership,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and the lead attorney representing Mr. Krizon. “Until that happens, The Buckeye Institute will continue to represent hardworking public employees like Mr. Krizon and demand their rights be respected.”

In June 2022, David Krizon notified his employer and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees that he was ending his membership in the union, and he requested that they stop deducting dues from his paycheck. OAPSE informed Mr. Krizon that his membership resignation was processed, but his request to end dues deduction was rejected, calling it “untimely”—a clear violation of Mr. Krizon’s Janus rights. In August 2022, the school district honored Mr. Krizon’s demand and stopped taking money from his paycheck and giving it to the government union. However, in February 2023—more than six months after the illegal dues deductions had ended—the union representative pressured the district to, once again, take money out of Mr. Krizon’s paycheck and give it to OAPSE.

Stay up-to-date on Krizon v. OAPSE at BuckeyeInstitute.org/KrizonvOAPSE.

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