In a decision released on Wednesday, June 27th, the U.S. Supreme Court held that States and public-sector unions may not force non-consenting employees to pay union dues. Saying that this forced or automatic payroll deduction payment violates the First Amendment, the Court ruled that unions now must allow employees to choose whether they wish to monetarily support a union in which they’re a participant.
In its 5-4 Janus decision, with Justice Alito writing for the majority, the Court concluded that such unions cannot require payment of an agency fee or any other form of payment nor can a union or employer make such a deduction from the employee’s paycheck without the employee’s consent.
State and public-sector employers will need to make changes to their payroll deduction processes if they haven’t already done so. We will have more on this important decision in the coming days. Stay tuned.
