Court rules in favor of PRPB employees over Janus rights violation

The District Court of Puerto Rico agreed with the employees' claims, stating that withholding the health benefit was indeed retaliation or discrimination against those who opted out of union membership.

"This is either retaliation for exercise of non-union members’ post-Janus non-associational rights under the First Amendment under the Constitution or simply discrimination," said the Court.

Lead plaintiff Vanessa Carbonell and others noticed that after opting out of union membership post-Janus, they no longer received a $25-a-month employer-paid benefit meant to assist with health insurance costs. The lawsuit demonstrated this was a discriminatory act by PRPB officials against those exercising their First Amendment rights.

The court's decision not only declared this practice unconstitutional but also issued an injunction preventing PRPB officials from continuing to withhold benefits from Carbonell and other affected employees.

“Janus enshrined a very simple First Amendment principle: That union officials need to convince public employees to support their organization and activities voluntarily,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens.