Union Station: September 21, 2018

Get Union Station: Ballotpedia's weekly deep dive on public-sector union policy

Email *

First Name

Please complete the Captcha above

On June 27, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus). The court ruled that public sector unions cannot require non-member employees to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities. How are state attorneys general, generally responsible for providing legal advice to the states and enforcing state laws, responding to Janus?

Most state legislatures are either in recess or have adjourned for the year. This week, we take a closer look at SB846, legislation recently enacted in California that aims to prevent public-sector employees from suing state employers for refunds of previously paid agency fees.

• On Sept. 14, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed SB846 into law. The measure protects public employers from liability for any legal claims involving agency fees paid to unions before June 27, 2018, the date the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Janus opinion. This law also denies standing to current or former employees pursuing such claims. Its provisions apply to any pending litigation in state-level courts. (Source: The Sacramento Bee)
  • Anne Giese, general counsel for SEIU Local 1000, California's largest state-employee union, supported the law: "When any business or industry complies with the law, they shouldn't be held liable for what they were doing that was in full compliance with the law."
  • Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation, criticized the law: "For decades, union officials have violated the constitutional rights of the very workers they claim to represent, and it is shameful that politicians in Sacramento are so beholden to Big Labor that they are now attempting to block a few years’ worth of those ill-gotten gains from being returned to those workers."
• Pending litigation in California: As of Sept. 21, Ballotpedia is tracking three California lawsuits involving refunds of previously paid agency fees. All of the suits were filed in federal courts and are not subject to SB846.
  • According to The Sacramento Bee, on Sept. 17, 15 public employees filed suit in U.S. District Court against seven public-sector unions, seeking repayment of previously paid agency fees. (Source: The Sacramento Bee)
  • On July 2, seven non-union California teachers who were required to pay agency fees filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking repayment of fees previously paid to the American Federation of Teachers. (Source: Education Week)
  • On June 27, the National Right to Work Foundation attached a new court filing to an existing class-action lawsuit, Hamidi et al. v. SEIU Local 1000, asking a federal appeals court order SEIU Local 1000 to refund approximately $100 million paid to the union in agency fees. (Source: National Right to Work Foundation)

What we've been reading:

• The Statesman Journal, "Oregon public employee unions sued for refund of millions in fees," Sept. 20, 2018
• The 74, "Union Report: Remember the 'Havoc' Janus Was Supposed to Cause? What Happened With That?" Sept. 19, 2018
• NJ.com, "Can N.J. labor unions survive major blow from Supreme Court?" Sept. 17, 2018

The big picture

States in session: As of Sept.21, state legislatures in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia are in special session. The remaining state legislatures have either adjourned or are in recess.

Number of relevant bills by state

As of Sept. 21, we are tracking 200 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. No new bills were tracked this week. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click the map for complete information.

Number of relevant bills by current legislative status

Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)

Recent legislative actions

Aside from the enactment of California SB846, described above, Ballotpedia tracked no other legislative actions related to public-sector union policy this week.

See also

• Public sector union policy in the United States