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Court Dismisses Challenge to Connecticut PCA Unionization Order

May 28, 2014

The Connecticut Appellate Court on May 19 threw out a lawsuit challenging an executive order signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) that allowed personal care attendants (PCAs) to join a union.

Malloy, the son of a public health nurse, said that PCAs employed through Connecticut’s waiver program deserved to “earn decent wages and earn respectable benefits” when he signed the executive order in September 2011.

Connecticut PCAs voted to form a union in March 2012, and two months later secured the right to collectively bargain with state for better wages and benefits.

The lawsuit was brought forth by several care providers and We the People of Connecticut, an organization dedicated to “defending the Constitution,” its website states. They plan to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

In a statement, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said that Malloy’s executive order was “entirely appropriate and lawful.” He called the legal challenge to the order “baseless.”

— by Matthew Ozga

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