Four troopers who opted out of the Connecticut State Police Union have filed a lawsuit claiming they're being forced to continue paying full union dues in violation of their constitutional rights.
Troopers Marc Lamberty, Joseph Mercer, Carson Konow, and Collin Konow filed the lawsuit in federal court March 14. They're seeking refunds of dues they say were illegally taken from their paychecks and a court order prohibiting full dues collection from non-unionized workers.
State troopers pay about $750 a year in union dues. The troopers say they're only supposed to pay the union for certain costs including collective bargaining and contract administration.
The defendants are the troopers' union and state officials.
The union's lawyer and the state attorney general's office, which defends state agencies, declined to comment on the allegations.
