Supreme Court Holds Mandated Public Sector Union Agency Fees Unconstitutional

In Labor by Coolidge Wall

On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court declared that fees charged to dissenting employees pursuant to a union agency shop arrangement violates the First Amendment. In a 5-4 vote in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, No. 16-1466, the court found in favor of Mark Janus, an Illinois public employee who refused to join the union yet had so-called agency or “fair share” fees taken from his paycheck every month, adding up to more than $500 each year. In finding for Janus, the Court overturned a 1977 decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. There, a group of Detroit …