Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal brief in Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) with Ohio’s Seventh 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. The Buckeye Institute represents Matthew Sheldon of Carrollton, Ohio, in Sheldon v. OAPSE—one of seven union wage theft cases brought by The Buckeye Institute.

“The facts of this case are not in dispute. Mr. Sheldon has ended his membership in the government union. Under Ohio law, this fact ends his ‘membership contract,’” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Mr. Sheldon. “What is in question is whether the courthouse doors are open to Mr. Sheldon—and other Ohioans—to bring his case and end the union’s illegal wage theft.”

In its appeal of Sheldon v. OAPSE, The Buckeye Institute argues that the lower court erred 1) in dismissing Mr. Sheldon’s case, declaring it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Employment Relations Board; and 2) in closing the courthouse doors to Mr. Sheldon. Buckeye argues that the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in Ohio Council 8, AFSCME, AFL-CIO v. Lakewood, unambiguously 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 Mr. Sheldon be given his day in court.

To learn more about Mr. Sheldon’s case and to stay up-to-date on Sheldon v. OAPSE, visit: BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.

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