Ohio Public Employees Sue AFSCME, Other Unions over Forced Dues Payments

Ten Ohio public employees this week sued in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas to stop labor unions from drawing money from their paychecks.

Lead plaintiff Lukas Darling worked in property enforcement for the Boardman Township Planning and Zoning Department and resigned as a member of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) two years ago. The other nine petitioners have worked either in public schools or at a state agency. Each resigned as a member of either AFSCME, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees or the Ohio Education Association.  

Read More

Buckeye Institute Disputes Expanded Municipal Taxing Authority in Ohio on Behalf of Blue Ash Resident

A Columbus-based think tank this week filed its legal response in the Ohio Supreme Court in defense of a Blue Ash man who believes the state cannot make him pay Cincinnati income taxes for a period of time he actually worked from home. 

The Buckeye Institute argued that a state law passed in March 2020 to allow jurisdictions encompassing an “employee’s principal place of work” to levy taxes on that worker even when he or she works from home is unconstitutional. Specifically, the institute notes that the federal Constitution’s dormant commerce clause in Article I, Section 8 disallows states to enact statutes that “unduly burden interstate commerce.” Buckeye attorneys also believe the Ohio Constitution constrains lawmakers’ ability to broaden cities and towns’ tax-collection power. 

Read More

Group Files Appeal in Ohio Municipal Income Tax Lawsuit

An Ohio policy group is continuing its fight against cities in the state collecting income taxes from people who do not work in those cities.

The Buckeye Institute filed an appeal with Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals in a case challenging the authority of the cities of Toledo and Oregon to tax nonresidents who do not work within those cities because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More

Ohio Municipal Income Tax Issue Continues in Courts

An Ohio organization that has fought cities collecting income taxes from people who had not worked in specific cities during the COVID-19 pandemic has filed an appeal in a Cincinnati case that was dismissed in June.

The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, recently filed its appeal with the First District Court of Appeals on behalf of Josh Schaad, who lives in Blue Ash but is employed in Cincinnati. The case was dismissed four months after it was filed.

Read More