Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (“AFSCME”)
Issues
Should Abood v. Detroit Board of Education be overruled, rendering public sector agency fee arrangements, which require non-union employees to pay a fee to the union, unconstitutional under the First Amendment?
This case will decide whether public-sector workers represented by a union can be required to pay agency fees. Janus argues that requiring public-sector workers to pay agency fees constitutes compelled speech and association, imposing undue restrictions on workers’ First Amendment rights. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (“AFSCME”) argues that imposing agency fees on all workers allows unions to appropriately and fairly represent all workers’ interests, which unions are legally required to do. This issue affects every dues-paying, public sector worker. Accordingly, this case will impact the way unions organize and represent public-sector workers.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether Abood v. Detroit Board of Education should be overruled and public-sector “agency shop” arrangements invalidated under the First Amendment.
In 2015, the governor of Illinois filed suit challenging provisions of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act (“IPLRA”) on First Amendment grounds. Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, 851 F.3d 746, 747 (7th Cir. 2017). By filing the lawsuit, the governor of Illinois sought to overrule Abood v.
Edited by
The authors would like to thank Cornell Law School Professor Angela Cornell for her insight into this case.
Additional Resources
- Jess Bravin: Supreme Court to Consider Public Worker Union Dues, The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 28, 2017).
- Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Mandatory Fees to Unions, The New York Times (Sept. 28, 2017)