Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that said former Governor John G. Rowland violated the constitutional rights of unionized state employees when he laid off 2,800 of them in 2003.
Jepsen said in a statement that the May 31 ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit could have "potentially significant consequences for Connecticut taxpayers." Rowland has said the appellate court ruling would make it harder for governors and local officials across the country to negotiate contracts with unions.
Officials have not yet figured out how much money the ruling could cost the state.
A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit ruled that the 2,800 workers were laid off because of their union membership and that their First Amendment right of freedom of association with unions was violated. No non-union workers were laid off. The appellate court's ruling overturned a 2011 decision by Hartford U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in favor of the Rowland administration, which denied wrongdoing.
The Second Circuit ordered a lower court to determine what to award the laid-off employees, many of whom later were rehired by the state to fill vacancies after other workers retired or left for other reasons.
Rowland's administration warned union leaders in late 2002 that it would lay off theworkers unless they accepted wage freezes to help the state close budget deficits. The unions balked, and the workers got pink slips. Union officials called the layoffs retaliation for refusing to cave in to the administration's demands and said union members were being singled out.
State employees, labor unions and the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition sued Rowland, a Republican, and his budget director, Marc Ryan, in 2003 over the layoffs. The coalition includes state employee union leaders.
Daniel E. Livingston, a lawyer and chief negotiator for the coalition, said union leaders are disappointed with Jepsen's decision to take the case to the Supreme Court.
"We believe without question that the court got it right," Livingston said. "When a governor punishes people because of the group to which they belong — whether it's a union or a political party, or a religion — he or she violates our Constitution's most cherished provisions. Now is the time to move on to determining the best way to undue the harm Rowland and Ryan did."
Rowland and Ryan disagree with the Second Circuit panel's decision and had urged state officials to appeal it either to the full circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. Rowland said the ruling would have a chilling effect on government leaders. "This decision ... will have significant impact on all future budget negotiations here in Connecticut, nationally, and even locally," Rowland said.
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