Unions – Fair Share Fees

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Mark Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31; AFL-CIO, et al.

Case No.: 19-1553

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and MANION and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Unions – Fair Share Fees

For 41 years, explicit Supreme Court precedent authorized state‐government entities and unions to enter into agreements under which the unions could receive fair‐share fees from nonmembers to cover the costs incurred when the union negotiated or acted on their behalf over terms of employment. Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Educ., 431 U.S. 209 (1977). To protect nonmembers’ First Amendment rights, fair-share fees could not support any of the union’s political or ideological activities. Relying on Abood, more than 20 states created statutory schemes that allowed the collection of fair‐share fees, and public‐sector employers and unions in those jurisdictions entered into collective bargaining agreements pursuant to these laws.

In 2018, the Supreme Court reversed its prior position and held that compulsory fair‐share or agency fee arrangements impermissibly infringe on employees’ First Amendment rights. Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448, 2461 (2018). The question before us now is whether Mark Janus, an employee who paid fair‐share fees under protest, is entitled to a refund of some or all of that money. We hold that he is not, and so we affirm the judgment of the district court.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.