U.S. District Judge William Conley says law stripping away public union rights does not violate workers' right to assemble or to equal protection.
Madison and Dane County public workers sued the state over Act 10 in July of 2011, arguing that the law creates different standards of treatment for union versus non-union government workers. For example, the law limits union pay raises.
Conley ruled that the government can treat its two types of employees differently.
Regarding the plaintiffs' claim that Act 10 denies them the right to assemble and speak as one group, the judge says union workers still have those rights, but government employers don't have to listen.