Janus v. AFSCME

Janus v. AFSCME
Argued February 26, 2018
Decided June 27, 2018
Full case nameMark Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al.
Docket no.16-1466
Citations585 U.S. ___ (more)
138 S. Ct. 2448; 201 L. Ed. 2d 924
Case history
PriorJudgment for defendants, No. 1:15-cv-01235 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 13, 2016); affirmed, 851 F.3d 746 (7th Cir. 2017); cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 54 (2017).
Holding
No public-sector employees who have refused membership in trade unions may be compelled to pay union dues to said unions because of the benefits that they may receive from their collective bargaining. When applied to public-sector workers, "fair share" agreements violate the First Amendment protections of both free association and free speech.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Case opinions
MajorityAlito, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Gorsuch
DissentSotomayor
DissentKagan, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
Laws applied
US Const. amend. I
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings
Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, No. 16-1466, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), abbreviated Janus v. AFSCME, is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on US labor law, concerning the power of labor unions to collect fees from non-union members. Under the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which applies to the private sector, union security agreements can be allowed by state law. The Supreme Court ruled that such union fees in the public sector violate the First Amendment right to free speech, overruling the 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that had previously allowed such fees.