Florida Senate Bill 256, signed in May 2023, rewrote how most civilian public-sector unions in the state collect dues, prove their membership, and keep their certification. It bans payroll deduction of union dues for non-exempt unions, requires them to show at least 60 percent paid membership each year or face a recertification election, and forces every member to sign a new state-prescribed authorization form. Public-safety unions are largely exempt. A federal court has since blocked the payroll deduction ban as applied to some unions, but the rest of the law remains in force.
Who the Law Covers and Who Is Exempt
SB 256 reaches unions representing public employees at Florida’s state agencies, counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts. Teachers, university faculty, municipal workers, and other civilian government employees are all covered.
The exemption is narrow but important. Bargaining units in which the majority of eligible employees are law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, or firefighters are exempt from the law’s main provisions, including the payroll deduction ban and the authorization form requirement.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 447 Section 301 As of 2025, bargaining units made up primarily of 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical technicians, or paramedics also qualify for the same protections.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 447.303 – Dues; Deduction and Collection
If your bargaining unit does not meet one of those descriptions, you are in a non-exempt union and the rules below apply to you.
The End of Payroll Deduction for Dues
Before SB 256, public employers routinely withheld union dues from paychecks the way they withhold taxes or retirement contributions. Under the amended Section 447.303, a non-exempt certified bargaining agent may no longer have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by the employer from employee salaries.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 447.303 – Dues; Deduction and Collection Members now have to pay the union directly, usually by setting up a recurring bank transfer, credit card charge, or check.
Exempt public-safety units can still use payroll deduction, but employees in those units can revoke the deduction authorization with 30 days’ written notice to both the employer and the union.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 447.303 – Dues; Deduction and Collection
The payroll deduction ban has been partially blocked in court. In Florida Education Association v. Simpson (Case No. 4:23-cv-00203), Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction in February 2024 and, in November 2024, ruled the ban unconstitutional under the Contracts Clause as applied to unions with active collective bargaining agreements that had been negotiated with payroll deduction as a term.3Florida Senate. Florida House Bill 1387 (2025) Bill Analysis Claims from unions whose contracts had already expired were ruled moot. The case was before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals as of mid-2025, so the ban’s status depends on your union’s contract and the appeals court’s ruling.
The 60 Percent Membership Threshold
SB 256 requires each non-exempt union to show at its annual registration renewal that at least 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation in the bargaining unit are dues-paying members.4Florida Senate. CS/CS/SB 256 – Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees
A union that falls below the threshold does not get a warning. It must petition the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) for a recertification election within one month of filing its renewal, and bargaining unit members then vote on whether to keep the union.4Florida Senate. CS/CS/SB 256 – Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees Judge Walker dismissed the constitutional challenge to this provision, so it remains fully in effect.
Sixty percent is a high bar in a right-to-work state where union membership has always been voluntary and many bargaining units represent workers who choose not to join. Combined with the loss of payroll deduction, which makes retaining paying members harder, a small drop in membership can push a union below the line and into a decertification vote.
The Membership Authorization Form
Since July 1, 2023, any public employee in a non-exempt unit who wants to be a union member must sign and date a membership authorization form prescribed by PERC.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 447 Section 301 The statute dictates what has to appear on it:
- The names of the bargaining agent, the employee, and the public employer, plus the employee’s class code and job title.
- The initiation fee and monthly dues amount, and the names and total compensation of the union’s five highest-paid officers and employees.
- A notice in 14-point type stating that Florida is a right-to-work state, that union membership is voluntary, and that no employee may be discriminated against for joining or refusing to join.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 447 Section 301
You can revoke your membership at any time of year by submitting a written request. The union must process the revocation on receipt. It cannot limit revocations to a certain window or require you to give a reason.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 447 Section 301 Unions have to keep signed authorizations and revocations on file for PERC inspection.
What Your Union Has to Tell You
SB 256 added financial transparency obligations that run to the membership. Every certified bargaining agent must give members an annual financial report prepared by an independent certified public accountant, including a breakdown of revenues and expenditures, an accounting of dues and assessments, and a disclosure of all costs of membership.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 447 Section 305
Unions must also inform employees of their rights under Janus v. AFSCME, the 2018 Supreme Court decision holding that public-sector unions may not collect fees from employees who have not affirmatively consented to pay.6Justia US Supreme Court. Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S. ___ (2018) The notice has to make clear that no public employee can be required to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment.
What Has Happened Since the Law Took Effect
Since October 2023, more than one hundred public-sector bargaining units in Florida have been decertified, and an estimated 69,000 workers had lost union representation by mid-2025. Education has been hit hardest: 32 education bargaining units decertified and over 16,000 education workers losing representation in that period.
Adjunct faculty units were almost entirely wiped out. All seven adjunct units at Florida’s state colleges and the one at a state university were decertified, affecting more than 8,400 workers.
Even unions that cleared the 60 percent bar felt the pressure. The Florida Education Association kept certification for all 166 of its bargaining units but saw a 15 percent decline in membership density in the year after the law took effect.
If you want to stay a union member in a non-exempt unit, you will need to sign the PERC form and set up a direct payment with your union. If you want out, a written revocation ends your membership whenever you send it, and the union must honor it without conditions.