Category: Court Decisions

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Supreme Court Issues Janus Decision; Governor Signs SB 866.

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (2018) 585 U. S. ____ The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Janus v AFSCME today. In a 5-4 decision, the majority held that forcing public employees to pay "agency fees" to their union, even if they choose not to join and strongly object to the positions the union takes in collective bargaining and related activities, violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern. In reaching this holding the majority overturned Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed. (1977) 431 U. S. 209, which for 41 years has sanctioned…

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Mark Janus v. AFSCME: Oral Argument Highlights

The Supreme Court held oral argument in the Janus v. AFSCME case this morning.  A transcript of the oral argument can be found here. Overall, the argument was very similar to the one held in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association last year. Here are some highlights of the questions and answers:

How are union agency fees any different than student activities fees or bar association fees? (Questions from Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor) William Messenger, the attorney for Mark Janus, responded that compelling state interests justify these other types of fees, but not for union agency fees.

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Court Overturns PERB’s Decision on San Diego Pension Reform

City of San Diego v. PERB (Court of Appeal Case No. D069630) (Issued on 4/11/17) I’ve been waiting for this decision for a long time.  I first wrote about this case in 2012.  (Click here for my blog post)  For those of you unfamiliar with the facts, here is an abbreviated version. Everyone knows the current system of public sector pensions is unsustainable.  In 2012, the citizens of the City of San Diego (City) addressed this issue through the “Citizens Pension Reform Initiative” (CPRI).  Among the biggest supporters of the CPRI was the Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders. Although…

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Appellate Court Overturns PERB

City of Escondido v PERB (2017) Court of Appeal Case No. D070462 (Issued on 3/8/17) (Unpublished) The courts of appeal give a lot of deference to PERB. As such the majority of PERB cases that are challenged are affirmed. This is one of those rare cases where PERB gets overturned. This case involved a decision by the City of Escondido to lay off several full-time code enforcement officers, and the City’s subsequent decision to assign some of the work previously performed by the full-time employees to part-time employees who are not in the bargaining unit. In PERB’s view, both decisions…

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