News
Michael Sullivan, chair of the firm's Labor & Employment group, was quoted in "Justices Appear Split on Mandatory Union Fees," published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The article concerns recent arguments heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether public-sector employees can be required to pay union fees as a condition of employment.
"Janus gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to fix an unfortunate violation of the First Amendment right of American workers..."
Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, asked the court to overturn it's ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. In that case, government employees could be required to pay "agency" or "fair share" fees to cover the cost of collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance adjustments - but employees can't be forced to cover political activities. In the current case, Janus argues that collective bargaining is inherently political and that mandatory fees are unconstitutional and a violation under the First Amendment's right to free speech and association.
"Janus gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to fix an unfortunate violation of the First Amendment right of American workers who are currently forced to either pay for a union that does not represent their political views or give up their government jobs," Sullivan said.
