Prohibition on Compensation Deductions Act Exposed

The Prohibition on Compensation Deductions Act was endorsed by ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and is included in ALEC's 1996 Sourcebook of American State Legislation. This prohibition is included in more recent ALEC model legislation, see Section 5 of the Public Employee Freedom Act: Prohibition of automatic payroll deductions. The Public Employee Freedom Act was approved by the ALEC Board of Directors in January 1999, re-approved by the ALEC Board of Directors in January 2013.

CMD's Bill Summary

This bill will limit funding for public employee unions by prohibiting public employers from deducting union dues from worker paychecks. Unions will have to collect dues directly from workers, reducing total dues that the unions will collect, and distracting from other workplace or union member issues by requiring unions focus energy on the task of collecting dues.

This is part of the package of public labor union reforms Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker put forth in his "Budget Repair Bill," 2011, which became Wisconsin Act 10.

ALEC Bill Text

Summary

The Prohibition on Compensation Deductions Act prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions of the state from deducting from the compensation of any employee any money from which a contribution is made to a political committee or to an intermediary through which any amount is provided to a political committee.

Model Legislation

Section 1. {Short Title.}

This Act shall be known as the Prohibition on Compensation Deductions Act.

Section 2. {Legislative Declarations.}

Section 3. {Definitions.}

(A) "Intermediary" means a person who receives any amount that has been deducted by an agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the state or any political subdivision thereof from the compensation of any employee by way of dues, fees, or assessments and who transfers any or all of such amount to a political committee.

(B) "Political committee" means any organization engaged in lobbying, electoral, and political activities which includes, but is not limited to, providing independent expenditures or contributions to any candidate, political party, voter registration campaign or any other political cause.

Section 4. {Deductions Prohibited.}

(A) No agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the state or any political subdivision thereof shall deduct from the compensation of any employee:

(1) Any money from which a contribution is made directly to a political committee or through an intermediary;

(2) Any dues, fees, or assessments from which any amount is given, transferred, or donated to a political committee for any reason or from which a contribution is made to a political committee for any reason.

(B) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting an employee of an agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the state or any political subdivision thereof from making contributions from his or her personal funds to a political committee.

Section 5. {Severability Clause.}

Section 6. {Repealer Clause.}

Section 7. {Effective Date.}