Posted on 04/09/2012 1:53:48 PM PDT by doug from upland
Religious objection to union dues not limited to a few
by The HR Specialist: Ohio Employment Law on August 3, 2007 12:00am in Employment Law,Human Resources,Small Business Tax,Small Business Tax Deduction Strategies
An Ohio public employee collective-bargaining law exemption that allows workers to forgo paying union dues because of religious beliefs has been applied too narrowly, the U.S. District Court, Southern District, has decided.
A Roman Catholic woman, who objected to her union’s support of abortion rights, sued the Ohio State Employment Relations Board for access to the exemption, which the board denied.
The statute allows some workers to make charitable contributions in lieu of paying union dues. Until now, it has been limited to members of bona fide religious bodies that have historically objected to union membership, such as the Amish, Mennonites and Seventh-day Adventists.
The court found that this qualification discriminates against members of other religions, and said employees who practice other religions also may use the provision to steer their dues away from unions and toward charities.
The government has no right to determine whether a person’s religious beliefs are legitimate or common.
If I am the sole believer in something, a religion of one, I have the same rights to practice my faith as a Catholic.
Ummm, perhaps you are missing the point of why this was posted. It is about diverting union dues.
I don’t think I missed the point at all.
Until this decision the court decided whether a person belonged to a court-recognized religion that the court decided was sufficiently opposed to paying union dues.
That should all be irrelevant.
If my faith is called the Church of Sherman, and it believes union dues are satanic, I have every right to refuse to pay them. Even if I’m the only member of the religion.
Before the decision, the court decided whether a religion was to be recognized as valid in this sense. A court has no valid reason to be making such decisions.
You talked about practicing your faith of one and made no reference to union dues. That is why I made the comment I made.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.