Agency shop fee statutes affecting public employees
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Assoc., No. 14–915
On March 29, 2016, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Assoc., 578 U.S. ___(2016).
At issue in this case was whether public-sector “agency shop” arrangements violate the First Amendment by requiring public employees to subsidizing speech not related to collective bargaining by public-sector unions unless the member elects to “opt-out.”
The Court said "The Judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court."
The decision results in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling standing, thereby permitting the California Teachers Association to continue its “agency shop” arrangement. Accordingly, a member of the negotiating unit must “affirmatively object” to “subsidizing nonchargable speech” by a public union and thereby receive a refund for the relevant portion of the agency shop fee attributed to supporting such “nonchargable speech.”
The decision is posted on the Internet at: