Columbus, OH – On Friday, The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal brief in DuPuis v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals, calling on the court to reverse the lower court’s dismissal of the case and end the union’s wage theft practices.

“Ohio’s Constitution is clear, ‘All courts shall be open, and every person…shall have justice administered without denial or delay,’” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Ms. DuPuis and Mrs. Binder. “The Buckeye Institute’s clients are asking for their day in court. Instead, they have been knocked around like a pinball with both the courts and the State Employment Relations Board refusing to hear their case.”

In its appeal of DuPuis v. AFSCME, The Buckeye Institute argues that the lower court erred 1) in dismissing the case, declaring it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Employment Relations Board; and 2) in closing the courthouse doors to The Buckeye Institute’s clients. Buckeye argues that the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in Ohio Council 8, AFSCME, AFL-CIO v. Lakewood, reaffirmed that Ohio’s Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act does not strip courts of their jurisdiction over private contractual disputes, and that the Ohio Constitution’s Open Courts Provision requires that Buckeye’s clients be given their day in court.

To learn more about DuPuis v. AFSCME and to stay up-to-date on the case, visit: BuckeyeInstitute.org/DuPuisvAFSCME.

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