(San Juan, Puerto Rico)—Four University of Puerto Rico employees exercised their constitutional rights to resign from their union after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME. Because of this decision, this year they were excluded from a one-time publicly funded payment reserved for members of the union—an illegal benefit granted to those who had not exercised their Janus rights.
The Liberty Justice Center has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of these four University of Puerto Rico employees challenging an agreement that conditioned a one-time, $3,000 employer-funded payment only to union membership—penalizing public employees for exercising their First Amendment right not to join a union.
In Méndez v. University of Puerto Rico, LJC represents Orlando Méndez López, José Cotto Meléndez, José A. Ramos Ramos, and Ciprián Centeno Rodríguez, who work in the same bargaining unit as union members at UPR’s Cayey campus. The Janus decision (2018)—a case where Liberty Justice Center represented the victorious plaintiff Mark Janus—states that public employees cannot be compelled to subsidize a union and have a protected right not to associate.
Despite this constitutional protection, in late 2024 the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the union negotiated a one-time $3,000 payment funded entirely by public dollars but reserved it only for employees current on union dues as of September 5, 2024. UPR disbursed the payment in two installments—$2,000 on January 15, 2025, and $1,000 on July 15, 2025—while denying the same benefit to the plaintiffs solely because they chose not to be union members.
“The Constitution doesn’t allow the government to turn taxpayer funds into a reward for union membership and a penalty for those who choose not to associate. Public employment benefits can’t be conditioned on union membership,” said Ángel J. Valencia, senior counsel for the Liberty Justice Center.
LJC’s lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to end the discriminatory policy, restitution/compensatory damages equal to the withheld payment with interest, nominal and punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
Public institutions must respect the rights of all employees. Denying publicly funded compensation because an employee declines union membership is unlawful discrimination and retaliation.
The Liberty Justice Center’s filing in Méndez v. University of Puerto Rico is available here.
