Supreme Court Rules Employee First Amendment Rights Trump Public-Sector Union “Agency Fees”
On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued one of the most anticipated decisions of the year, ruling that nonunion workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public-sector unions. In the Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council (“AFSCME”) case, Illinois state employee Mark Janus challenged the $45 monthly fee he paid to the public-sector AFSCME union. Janus was not a member of the AFSCME union. However, public-sector employees who declined to join a public-sector union were still required to pay an “agency fee” instead of full union dues. The “agency fee” could only cover collective bargaining costs, and not political advocacy costs. The United States Supreme Court previously upheld the payment of such “agency fees” as constitutional in the 1977 Abood case.