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Updated: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, United States Supreme Court


Earlier this year, I wrote about a case pending before the United States Supreme Court that dealt with agency fees and whether public sector unions could require all employees in the bargaining unit to pay the fees.  At the time, oral arguments had just been heard in which the petitioners (Friedrichs, et al.) argued that the Court's 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education should be overturned.  The Court had ruled in Abood that workers do not have to join unions or fund a union's political activities.  However, these workers can be compelled to pay for collective bargaining and other costs of contract administration (commonly referred to as "agency fees").

At the end of last month, the Court issued its long awaited opinion on the matter and came back with a 4 - 4 tie...by way of a one page opinion, no less.  That 4 - 4 decision resulted in the Ninth Circuit's ruling remaining in place, which meant that California (and other states in that circuit) could continue to require nonunion members to pay agency fees.  This ruling was one of the major decisions to be handed down that turned, in essence, upon only having 8 justices on the Court to make a ruling following Justice Scalia's death.

On April 8, the petitioners filed a motion for rehearing and argued that the issues presented in the case were too important to leave unsettled (by way of the Court's 4 - 4 ruling) and would be guaranteed to recur in the absence of a definitive ruling from the Court.  Accordingly, the petitioners asked for (in their words, an "extraordinarily rare") rehearing after a replacement Justice is appointed to the Court to fill the spot left vacant by Justice Scalia.  

It goes without saying that the Supreme Court vacancy is a hot button issue as of late.  With Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia having been nominated by President Obama to fill the vacancy and Republicans in Congress vowing not to hold confirmation hearings, this is an issue that could drag out for many, many months.  Whether the petitioners will obtain a rehearing is difficult to say...but based upon their arguments, it an issue that I think is worth a second look by a full United States Supreme Court.


A copy of the United States Supreme Court's 4 - 4 opinion:  www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-915_1bn2.pdf

A copy of the motion for rehearing can be found here:  https://www.cir-usa.org/legal_docs/friedrichs_v_cta_pet_rehearing.pdf

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