Montana's contract public defenders sue over unilateral hourly rate decrease

​"Attorneys sue Montana after pay cut, unionization blocked," by Seaborn Larson, Great Falls Tribune, June 26, 2018​

​Attorneys working overflow or conflict cases from the state public defender's office say that state officials violated a public contract when they unilaterally reduced rates for contractors, in a lawsuit filed in Lewis and Clark County District Court.

The suit, filed May 10 against Gov. Steve Bullock and Office of Public Defender Director Rhonda Schaffer, alleges a 10 percent reduction in pay for contract attorneys was a breach of those agreements and, while amid a state budget crisis, a cost-cutting measure not available to state officials.

​Read the entire story here.