The Franklin Circuit Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by labor unions challenging the Commonwealth’s historic new right-to-work law.
House Bill 1, passed by the 2017 General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin, made Kentucky the 27th state to extend right-to-work guarantees to all its workers.
The Court’s decision rejected the labor unions’ arguments and concluded that the General Assembly acted both reasonably and rationally in determining that House Bill 1 would bring increased jobs and investment to Kentucky.
“The Court’s ruling confirmed what we already knew: Kentucky’s right-to-work law rests on a sound legal bedrock and is an essential economic driver for our state, bringing unprecedented job growth and a record $9.2 billion in corporate investment in 2017,” said Gov. Bevin. “This weak attempt to stop Kentucky’s economic growth through legal challenges has been appropriately smacked down.”
The Kentucky State AFL-CIO and Teamsters had brought suit against the Bevin Administration, hoping that the Commonwealth’s new right-to-work law would be found unconstitutional.
Craig Bouchard, CEO of Braidy Industries, has cited the Commonwealth’s new right-to-work law as a key factor in the company’s decision to locate their $1.3 billion aluminum mill in Eastern Kentucky.
(provided by Office of the Governor)
