Sheriff's Department Deducting Union Dues from Deputies' Paychecks, Keeping the Money, Tort Claim Says

A Multnomah County Sheriff Corrections Deputy is threatening to sue the county, saying the sheriff's department is deducting his union dues from his paychecks—but then keeping the money.

A tort claim filed Sept. 27 by Portland attorney Hank Kaplan, who represents the county's corrections deputies union, says the union hasn't received money from dues withheld from deputies since around April 2012.

Charles Greholver-Hatcher
It’s just evidence of incompetence 

The union dues—which are $35 per month—seem to be missing from just newly-hired deputies, Kaplan says. He estimates there could be as many as 30 members who are affected.

Kaplan says the union has been trying to get the county to fix the problem for some time. "It's getting to the point where we're getting really tired of this," he says. "We filed a tort claim to light a fire under this."

A spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Department did not immediately return calls for comment. 

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