Labor Law

Janus and Public Pension Funds

September 17, 2018

In last Term’s Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court ruled that union agency fees—payments that all public employees were required to make to labor unions—violated the employees’ First Amendment rights. Since Janus, several commentators have pointed out that agency fees are not the only mandatory payments deducted from public employees’ paychecks. In most states, public…

Janus and the Law of Opt-Out Rights

July 2, 2018

A great deal of time will be spent scrutinizing the core holding in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, that the First Amendment forbids public employers to require workers to financially support a union’s costs of collective bargaining. Still more time will be spent debating state legislative approaches to soften Janus’s blow or neutralize it altogether….