Federal ruling could aid Utah teachers unions

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that an Idaho law forbidding voluntary deductions from local government employees' paychecks to pay for political activities is unconstitutional — a victory for the Idaho Education Association teachers union, which had sued the state.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco could influence a similar case about such deductions in Utah. The 9th Circuit affirmed a lower U.S. District Court ruling that the 2003 law violated First Amendment protections of free speech.

According to the ruling, the law hampers the ability of teachers to conduct First Amendment-protected political activities by making the collection of funds to do so more difficult.

Similar laws in neighboring Utah have also been struck down in separate rulings. Last year, Utah federal Judge Tena Campbell ruled that Utah's law, passed in 2001, served no compelling state interest and violated employees' freedom of speech.

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Contributing: Angie Welling, Deseret Morning News