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Non-profit

The Fairness Center

Website:

www.fairnesscenter.org
Location:

Harrisburg, PA
Tax ID:

46-4482738
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2019):

Revenue: $1,875,783
Expenses: $1,672,654
Assets: $1,180,703
Type:

Public Interest Law Firm
Founded:

2014

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The Fairness Center is a public interest law firm that represents workers allegedly harmed by attempts by public sector union officials to require non-members to pay union dues. 1 The organization contends that public sector unions frequently attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, which prohibited mandatory union dues payments in the government sector. 2

The organization has reportedly received funding from right-leaning donors such as Charles Koch, the Scaife Foundation, and Donors Trust. 3

The center has represented public school teachers, graduate assistants, firefighters, and home care workers against public-sector unions in litigation. 4

Background

The Fairness Center is a public interest legal organization that provides free legal services to workers allegedly harmed by public-sector union officials. The organization says it advocates for clients in a court of law and the court of public opinion and has represented both union and non-union members. 5

The Fairness Center contends that unions are attempting to evade the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, which overturned rules that required non-union members to pay union dues, or an “agency fee” or “fair share fee” for the costs of collective bargaining. 6

The organization has litigated cases seeking to overturn Pennsylvania labor laws that are inconsistent with Janus. In most cases, the unions enter into settlements. A Fairness Center official said as of late 2021, the organization identified at least 20 post-Janus collective bargaining agreements that include references to agency fees. 7

The organization primarily operates in Pennsylvania but is registered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 8 Founded in 2014, it has reportedly received funding from right-leaning donors such as Charles Koch and his late brother David, the Scaife Foundation, and Donors Trust. 9

Former Fairness Center president David Osborne was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2017 to the Federal Services Impasse Panel, or FSIP, which is empowered to resolve labor disputes in the federal workforce, a position he held until President Joe Biden fired every member of the panel in 2021. 10

Cases

The Fairness Center has represented public school teachers, graduate assistants, firefighters, and home care workers that do not want to be forced to pay union dues, do not want state employee unions interfering with their work agreements, or have conscience objections to how some of the union dues are spent. 11

The organization successfully sued to overturn an executive order from then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) to allow unions to extract dues from thousands of home health workers. 12

The center also filed federal class-action lawsuits against three of Pennsylvania’s largest government worker unions challenging how the unions force employees to remain members or pay dues even after they leave the union. 13

The Fairness Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Lehigh County, Pennsylvania public employee who said he was barred from leaving a union for 15 days before the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement. The center says that some public employees are forced to continue paying the union dues even after they leave. 14

The Fairness Center sued in Philadelphia over 16 teachers who allegedly worked for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state teachers’ union, during school hours. Fairness Center alleged a violation of the state’s “ghost teacher” law that bars union activity when teachers are supposed to be in class. 15 It also brought a lawsuit to force Pennsylvania’s largest public unions to change their contracts and release 50,000 public employees from limits on when they can leave the union. 16

The center says its litigation uncovered tens of thousands of dollars in embezzled union dues. 17

The center defended a local union’s right to separate from a state union. In the course of the litigation, it exposed what a court called “questionable” financial practices. 18

The center won a judge’s ruling that union officials violated their duty to treat all employees fairly and that the union misled members during contract ratification. 19

Leadership

Nathan J. McGrath is the president and general counsel at the Fairness Center. He is also a Pennsylvania Advisory Committee Member with the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Previously, he was a staff attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. He was also an associate attorney with Lawlor & Lawlor, P.C., a general practice firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 20

Matthew L. Garber is the vice president and corporate counsel at the Fairness Center. Previously, he spent five years at McNees Wallace & Nurick law firm in Harrisburg. 21

Danielle Acker Susanj is the vice president and senior litigation counsel at the Fairness Center.  Previously, she practiced law as a litigation associate at a large international firm in Washington and as a litigator in central Pennsylvania, representing clients in federal district and appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court. 22

References

  1. “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  2.  Smith, Christine. “Correctional nurses sue Pennsylvania union, alleging unfair representation.” The Center Square. August 17, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/correctional-nurses-sue-pennsylvania-union-alleging-unfair-representation/article_14fb1484-ff8d-11eb-9d55-334c22951f2b.html
  3. “Spotlight on the Fairness Center.” PA Spotlight. February 13, 2019. http://www.paspotlight.org/2019/spotlight-on-the-fairness-center/
  4. “Featured Cases.” Fairness Center. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/cases/
  5. [1] “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  6. Smith, Christine. “Correctional nurses sue Pennsylvania union, alleging unfair representation.” The Center Square. August 17, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/correctional-nurses-sue-pennsylvania-union-alleging-unfair-representation/article_14fb1484-ff8d-11eb-9d55-334c22951f2b.html
  7. Mooney, Kevin. “Pennsylvania Unions Ignore SCOTUS Ruling, Keep Forcing Teachers To Pay Dues.” The Federalist. December 2, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/02/pennsylvania-unions-ignore-scotus-ruling-keep-forcing-teachers-to-pay-dues/
  8. “Spotlight on the Fairness Center.” PA Spotlight. February 13, 2019. http://www.paspotlight.org/2019/spotlight-on-the-fairness-center/
  9. “Spotlight on the Fairness Center.” PA Spotlight. February 13, 2019. http://www.paspotlight.org/2019/spotlight-on-the-fairness-center/
  10. Osborne, David R. “Biden Fired Me, by Order of Big Labor.” The Wall Street Journal. February 10, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/17/janus-unions-employment-1447266
  11. “Featured Cases.” Fairness Center. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/cases/
  12. “The Fairness Center: A Welcome Counterbalance to Bureaucrat Unions.” PMA Bulletin. Pennsylvania Medical Association. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.pamanufacturers.org/pma-bulletin/fairness-center-welcome-counterbalance-bureaucrat-unions
  13. [1] “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  14. Rainey, Rebecca and Kullgren, Ian. “1 year after Janus, unions are flush.” Politico. May 17, 2019. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/17/janus-unions-employment-1447266
  15. “The Fairness Center: A Welcome Counterbalance to Bureaucrat Unions.” PMA Bulletin. Pennsylvania Medical Association. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.pamanufacturers.org/pma-bulletin/fairness-center-welcome-counterbalance-bureaucrat-unions
  16. “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  17. “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  18. “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  19. “Fairness Center.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fairness-center/
  20. “Our People.” Fairness Center. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/our-people/
  21. “Our People.” Fairness Center. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/our-people/
  22. “Our People.” Fairness Center. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/our-people/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: September - August
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 2015

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2019 Sep Form 990 $1,875,783 $1,672,654 $1,180,703 $124,752 N $1,825,258 $50,525 $0 $389,169 PDF
    2018 Sep Form 990 $1,566,789 $1,162,901 $945,259 $92,437 N $1,566,789 $0 $0 $357,659 PDF
    2017 Sep Form 990 $1,291,800 $818,826 $489,108 $40,174 N $1,291,800 $0 $0 $306,078 PDF
    2016 Sep Form 990 $517,325 $525,441 $16,885 $40,925 N $517,325 $0 $0 $0
    2015 Sep Form 990 $307,885 $368,996 $63,233 $79,157 N $307,885 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $416,661 $375,557 $61,310 $20,206 N $416,661 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    The Fairness Center

    500 North Third Street
    Harrisburg, PA