The Supreme Court has upended a decades-old precedent that allowed unions to collect fees from government employees, including those who were not actually part of the union.
The justices rules 5-4 that public sector unions may not collect mandatory fees from non-members.
Mark Janus, employed at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, set the ball in motion when he sued because he didn’t want a certain fee deducted from his paycheck to go toward a union just because he worked for the state. His lawyers argued the payment could violate First Amendment rights if someone is forced to pay a fee to an organization with different views than he or she holds.
Supreme Court deals blow to unions, rules against forced fees for government workers
The justices rules 5-4 that public sector unions may not collect mandatory fees from non-members.
Mark Janus, employed at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, set the ball in motion when he sued because he didn’t want a certain fee deducted from his paycheck to go toward a union just because he worked for the state. His lawyers argued the payment could violate First Amendment rights if someone is forced to pay a fee to an organization with different views than he or she holds.
Supreme Court deals blow to unions, rules against forced fees for government workers