Judge rules Louisville Public Defenders Corporation violated federal union law - WDRB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A judge has found the Louisville Public Defenders Corporation violated the National Labor Relations Act, which requires employers to work in good faith with its union.

Attorneys voted to unionize in January 2022 in a 32-5 vote and have been in negotiations with management since July 2022.

Attorneys at the Corporation said they felt overworked and attorneys left at a rapid rate.

Most recently, a federal judge said the Corporation has not cooperated with union efforts.

Ben Basil is general counsel for IBEW Local 369 and working with the Union.

Basil said under federal law, the Corporation was required to provide information and required to meet and bargain, but the Corporation refused to do that.

"They said they had to wait around for the Kentucky Supreme Court to tell them that they had to meet and bargain," Basil said. "The Kentucky Supreme Court is not going to do that, they're never going to do that, because federal law says they have to meet and bargain and provide the information."

Basil also said the Corporation also did not bargain with the Union when it removed one attorney from their position, and subcontracted their work.

"The (Corporation) violated the law, and they knew they were violating the law and they did on purpose," Basil said. "You shouldn't be able to knowingly and intentionally violate the law, especially when you're a lawyer and get away with it."

In a request to comment on the ruling, Leo Smith, the Corporation's Chief Public Defender said: "We most definitely plan to appeal and expect to prevail on the merits given the weight of evidence on the record supporting our position.”

As a result of the ruling, the Corporation was ordered to provide documents requested by Basil on behalf of the Union and bargain in good faith.

However, Basil expects more of the same.

"They're going to violate it again would be my guess, but we'll see," Basil said.

Basil also said that the lack of cooperation from the Corporation has impacted tax payers.

"All the money they have comes from the state of Kentucky and Louisville Metro so they're wasting it because they've violating the law on purpose."

Previously, public defenders have explained the reason public defenders could unionize is because they receive funding from the state Department of Public Advocacy and Metro government, meaning they are not state employees, and actually operate as a nonprofit, allowing them to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board.

However, the future of the Union is up in the air. House Bill 568, passed by the legislature last session, removes the funding from the city for the Louisville Public Defenders Corporation. Meaning, the Corporation's employees will work for the state.

"They don't want to get a contract with the Union, that's my opinion," Basil said. "They want to say there never was a Union and they'd rather just ban office entirely, then let their own workers have any say in wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. But their decision to intentionally violate federal law occurred before there was any inclination, at least publicly, that the state was going to take over this office."