Ainscough v. Owens

The question before us is whether individual state employees and their labor organizations have standing to sue the Governor and the Executive Director of the Department of Personnel to challenge a 2001 Executive Order and ensuing Personnel Policy that eliminated employee payroll deductions for union dues. In the trial court, the employees asserted eight claims for relief. They claimed that the policy violated three provisions of the Colorado Constitution (separation of powers, free speech, and state personnel system provisions) and two statutes (a payroll deduction law and the Administrative…