Public-sector union legislation and litigation five years after Janus

Note: Today’s newsletter is the final edition of Union Station. We are so grateful for your readership over the past five years. Want in-depth reporting about federal courts, election policy, school board politics, and more? Check out and subscribe to Ballotpedia’s other newsletters here.

This month will mark the five-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. In Janus, the Supreme Court held that public-sector unions may not require non-member employees to pay agency fees covering the costs of union activities, overturning precedent established in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977.

Ballotpedia began tracking public-sector union legislation ahead of the Janus decision. We started tracking public-sector union lawsuits a year later. Today, we’ll take a look at what we’ve seen over the last five years.

Public-sector union legislation five years after Janus

As we reported last month, state lawmakers have introduced more public-sector union bills in 2023 than any year since 2018. We’re currently tracking 236 pieces of legislation related to public-sector union policy. While this is our last edition of Union Station, we’ll continue tracking bills through the end of the year on Ballotpedia.

Here’s an updated breakdown of the number of bills introduced and enacted since 2018:

And the breakdown by sponsor party:

So far, 27 of the bills we’re tracking this year have been enacted. To see a list of all enacted bills, click here. Here is a sampling of seven enacted bills:

Arkansas SB473: Republican sponsorship. This bill prohibits school districts from deducting union dues or fees from teachers’ or classified employees’ pay.
Colorado SB111: Democratic sponsorship. This bill gives public employees the right to express views about union representation and workplace issues, engage in “protected concerted activity for the purpose of mutual aid or protection,” participate in the political process while not at work, and join or not join a union. It prohibits public employers from retaliating against employees for engaging in such activities.
Florida S0256: Republican sponsorship. This bill requires public employees who want to be union members to sign a membership authorization form including language specified in the bill. The bill requires unions to allow members to revoke membership at any time and prohibits public employers from collecting union dues from employees’ pay. The bill amends registration and renewal requirements for certified bargaining agents. Unions representing law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, and firefighters are excepted from the provisions of the bill.
Kentucky SB7: Republican sponsorship, veto overridden. This bill prohibits public employers from deducting union dues or fees from public employee wages or assisting a union in collecting dues, fees, or related personal information.
Michigan HB4004: Democratic sponsorship. This bill repeals a section of law prohibiting public employees from being required to join or financially support a union. The bill stipulates, “[T]his act or any other law of this state does not preclude a public employer from making an agreement with an exclusive bargaining representative … to require as a condition of employment that all other employees in the bargaining unit pay to the exclusive bargaining representative a service fee equivalent to the amount of dues uniformly required of members of the exclusive bargaining representative.”
Tennessee SB0281: Republican sponsorship. This bill prohibits local education agencies from deducting union dues from employee wages.
Washington HB1200: Democratic sponsorship. This bill requires public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives with information including employee name, date of hire, contact information, and employment and salary information within 21 business days of hiring a new employee in the bargaining unit. Information for every employee in the unit must be sent to the exclusive bargaining representative every 120 business days.

Public-sector union litigation five years after Janus

Since 2019, we’ve tracked 191 federal lawsuits related to public-sector labor laws. Among the most common questions raised in these cases:

Whether public-sector unions can be held liable for refunding agency fees paid before Janus;
Whether public-sector unions may continue to collect union dues from an employee who leaves the union if there is a pre-existing agreement that membership or dues authorization may only be revoked during a certain window;
Whether exclusive bargaining representation laws violate non-union members’ First Amendment rights;
Whether mandatory bar association dues should be reconsidered in light of Janus.

We’ve also tracked lawsuits in which public-sector unions challenged state or federal laws.

The chart below depicts the number of lawsuits we’ve tracked by federal judicial circuit.

And here’s the current status of each of these cases:

To view a spreadsheet with information about all of these cases, click here.

Supreme Court updates

Here’s what’s happened since last month with public-sector union cases appealed to the Supreme Court.

Opinion released: Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority. On May 18, the Supreme Court upheld a December 2021 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which found that the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has jurisdiction over labor disputes between dual-status technicians and state National Guards. The Supreme Court’s decision was 7-2, with Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissenting. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion.
Petition denied: Kolkowski v. Ashtabula Area Teachers Association
Scheduled for conference on June 8:
- Peltz-Steele v. UMass Faculty Federation
- Ramon Baro v. Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504

What we’re reading

The big picture

Number of relevant bills by state

We are currently tracking 236 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click here for a complete list of all the bills we’re tracking.

Number of relevant bills by current legislative status

Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)

Recent legislative actions

Below is a complete list of relevant legislative actions taken since our last issue.

California AB1: This bill would establish the “Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act,” which would allow state legislative employees to organize and bargain collectively. The act would go into effect on July 1, 2024.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, committee recommends “do pass as amended.” Read second time and amended, ordered returned to second reading May 18. Read second time, ordered to third reading May 22. Read third time, passed, ordered to the Senate May 25. In Senate, read first time, referred to Senate Rules Committee for assignment May 26.
California AB504: As amended, this bill would stipulate that it is not against the law or cause for discipline for state or local public employees to refuse to enter the site of a labor dispute, refuse to perform work for an employer involved in a labor dispute, or refuse to cross a picket line.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, committee recommends “do pass.” Read second time, ordered to third reading May 18. Read third time, passed, ordered to the Senate May 31. Read first time in Senate, referred to Senate Rules Committee for assignment June 1.
California AB1484: This bill would require temporary public employees hired to perform similar work to that of permanent public employees to be included in the same bargaining unit as permanent employees, upon the union’s request.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, committee recommends “do pass as amended.” Read second time and amended, ordered returned to second reading May 18. Read second time, ordered to third reading May 22. Read third time, passed, ordered to the Senate May 31. Read first time in Senate, referred to Senate Rules Committee for assignment June 1.
California AB1672: This bill, called the “In-Home Supportive Services Employer-Employee Relations Act,” would stipulate that the state is the employer of record for individual in-home supportive services providers for collective bargaining purposes. The bill would stipulate procedures for collective bargaining.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, committee recommends “do pass.” Read second time, ordered to third reading May 18. Read third time, passed, ordered to the Senate May 31. Read first time in Senate, referred to Senate Rules Committee for assignment June 1.
California SB334: This bill would authorize the Public Employment Relations Board to include the effect of net-zero carbon emissions initiatives on public employees when conducting studies of employer-employee relations.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, held in committee and under submission.
California SB716: This bill, which would enact the Excluded Employee Arbitration Act, would allow a union representing certain excluded employees to request binding arbitration in certain circumstances.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate Appropriations Committee hearing May 18, committee recommends “do pass.” Read second time, ordered to third reading May 18. Read third time, passed, ordered to the Assembly May 25. In Assembly, read first time, held at desk May 25.
Colorado SB111: This bill would give certain public employees the right to express views about union representation and workplace issues, engage in “protected concerted activity for the purpose of mutual aid or protection,” participate in the political process while not at work, and join or not join a union. It would prohibit public employers from retaliating against employees for engaging in such activities. It would stipulate that the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is responsible for enforcement.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Governor signed June 6, 2023.
Delaware SB72: As amended, this bill would allow union members to claim an itemized deduction for the annual cost of union membership, up to $500, with certain exceptions.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate Substitute No. 2 introduced and adopted May 18. Senate passed May 18. Assigned to House Revenue & Finance Committee June 1. Reported out June 6, assigned to House Appropriations Committee June 7.
Illinois HB0297: This bill would stipulate that either party to a collective bargaining agreement for educational employees prohibited from striking may submit disputes for arbitration. The bill would establish mandatory interest arbitration proceedings.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assigned to Senate Executive Committee, hearing May 17. Committee reported favorably. Second reading May 17. Third reading deadline established as May 25 on May 19.
Illinois HB1120: This bill would require certified charter school contract renewals to include a union neutrality clause stating that the school agrees to be “neutral regarding the unionization of any of its employees …,” to provide “labor organization access at reasonable times…,” and to recognize unions “through a majority card check verified by a neutral third-party arbitrator[.]”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Sent to the governor June 8.
Maine LD1095: This bill would make an exception to the 10-day deadline for school administrative units and employee bargaining agents to meet for collective bargaining negotiations requested by the other party if there is a prior written contract agreeing otherwise, except that the bill would prohibit the enforcement of “explicit waivers of collective bargaining over wages, hours, working conditions and contract grievance arbitration.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Governor signed May 17, 2023.
Maine LD1588: This bill would require public employers to provide personal contact information for all public employees to the union representing the bargaining unit within 30 days of a request from the union, up to four times a year, in addition to an existing requirement for public employers to provide unions with contact information for new employees.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- House accepted “ought to pass as amended” report June 8. Read once, committee amendment read and adopted, read second time and passed as amended June 8 .
Maine LD1636: This bill would stipulate that employees, including public employees, have the right to “refrain from paying any dues, fees, assessments or other similar charges, however denominated, of any kind or amount to a labor organization or to a 3rd party or charity in lieu of payment to a labor organization.” The bill would establish penalties and enforcement.
- Republican sponsorship.
- Reported out of Joint Labor and Housing Committee June 2. Senate accepted “ought not to pass” report June 6, House accepted report June 8. Dead.
Maine LD1707: This bill would strike language from multiple public employee labor statutes stating that “an employee may be required to pay to the organization that is the bargaining agent for the employee a service fee that represents the employee’s pro rata share of those expenditures that are germane to the organization’s representational activities.”
- Republican sponsorship.
- Reported out of Joint Labor and Housing Committee June 2. House accepted “ought not to pass” report June 6, Senate accepted report June 7. Dead.
Maine LD1922: This bill would allow “[t]wo or more bargaining agents who are certified by the executive director of the board and who are members or affiliates of the same public employee organization … [to] elect to merge.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Joint Labor and Housing Committee hearing May 16. Work session held May 24, committee voted “ought to pass as amended.” Senate read and accepted report June 7. Read once, committee amendment read and adopted, read second time and passed as amended June 7.
Maryland HB637 and Maryland SB428: These bills would allow sworn deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies at the rank of sergeant and below to bargain collectively with their employers. The bill would not authorize such employees to strike.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Governor signed May 16.
Maryland SB610: This bill would stipulate that a collective bargaining agreement covering teachers in a virtual school may include specific provisions accounting for the conditions and requirements of a virtual school.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution on May 28.
Michigan HB4230: This bill would allow public employees to have contributions for union political funds deducted from their wages.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- House Labor Committee hearing May 11, referred to House Elections Committee. House Elections Committee hearing May 16. Reported with recommendation without amendment, referred to second reading May 16.
Michigan HB4234: This bill would remove certain campaign finance limitations for labor organizations. The bill would stipulate, “A labor organization may make an independent expenditure in any amount advocating for the election or defeat of a candidate, or the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question and does not for this reason become a committee, but the labor organization is subject to the independent expenditure reporting requirements.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- House Elections Committee reported with recommendation with substitute May 16, referred to second reading.
Michigan SB0169: This bill would require public employers to provide certain contact information to the appropriate bargaining representative within 30 days of hiring a new employee. The bill would require public employers to provide each bargaining representative with certain employment and contact information for all public employees in the unit every 90 days.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate Labor Committee hearing May 18. Labor Committee reported favorably with substitute May 23, referred to Committee of the Whole. Committee of the Whole reported favorably with substitute June 7. Senate concurred in substitute June 7, passed June 8. House received, read first time, referred to House Labor Committee June 8.
Michigan HB4582: This bill would only allow bargaining representatives to represent public employees for collective bargaining purposes who either voted for the bargaining representative or authorized the representation in writing.
- Republican sponsorship.
- Introduced, read first time, referred to House Government Operations Committee May 16.
Michigan HB4584: This bill would make the payment of public-sector union dues and fees to an exclusive bargaining representative optional if an officer of the union or an officer of the union’s regional or national office is convicted of a felony “related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative.”
- Republican sponsorship.
- Introduced, read first time, referred to House Government Operations Committee May 16.
Michigan HB4587: This bill would implement certain campaign finance contribution limitations for labor organizations that would not apply if a specific set of provisions are included in state law, including, “No person shall by force, intimidation, or unlawful threats compel or attempt to compel any public employee to do any of the following … [b]ecome or remain a member of a labor organization or bargaining representative or otherwise affiliate with or financially support a labor organization or bargaining representative …”
- Republican sponsorship.
- Introduced, read first time, referred to House Government Operations Committee May 16.
Minnesota HF3333: This bill would refer a question to the 2024 general election ballot about whether to add an article titled “Collective Bargaining Rights” to the Minnesota Constitution. In part, the amendment would state, “The people shall have the rights to organize together to form, join, or assist labor organizations, and to bargain collectively with a public or private employer through an exclusive representative of the employees’ choosing, to the fullest extent not preempted by the laws of the United States. … No existing or future law of the state or its political subdivisions shall impair, restrict, or limit the negotiation and enforcement of any collectively bargained agreement with a public or private employer respecting financial support by employees of their collective bargaining representative according to the terms of that agreement.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Introduction and first reading, referred to House Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee May 19.
Minnesota SF1384: Before being amended, this bill would have allowed public employees to authorize payroll deductions for union dues and union political fund contributions. It would have required public employers to provide exclusive representatives with certain personnel data within 20 days of hiring a new employee, and every 120 days for all employees. The bill would also have required public employers to allow exclusive representatives access to meet with new employees, to contact employees on employer-issued email addresses, and to meet in employer facilities. Provisions related to public-sector unions were removed before the bill was presented to the governor.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Conference committee reported May 22. House and Senate adopted conference committee report and repassed May 22. Presented to governor May 23. Governor signed May 26.
Missouri HB402: This bill would remove unions representing ambulance attendants, attendant drivers, and emergency medical technician paramedics from the definition of “public safety labor organization.”
- Republican sponsorship.
- Signed by House speaker and Senate president pro tem, delivered to governor May 30.
Nevada AB172: As amended, this bill would require every school district employer to provide recognized unions with certain contact information for all employees in the bargaining unit at least twice a year.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate Government Affairs Committee hearing May 19. Committee reported favorably with amendment May 23. Read second time, amended May 23. Read third time, passed as amended May 25. Assembly concurred in Senate amendment May 30. Enrolled and delivered to governor May 31.
Nevada AB224: This bill would authorize collective bargaining between State of Nevada Executive Department employers with 400 or more professional employees and those professional employees. The bill would provide for the designation of exclusive representatives and establish collective bargaining procedures.
- Bipartisan sponsorship.
- Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing May 23. Committee recommended “amend, and do pass as amended” June 2. Read third time in Assembly, amended June 2. Assembly read third time, passed as amended June 3. Senate read first time, referred to Senate Finance Committee June 3. Senate Finance Committee hearing June 4. Committee recommended “do pass” June 4. Senate read second time June 4. Senate read third time, passed June 5.
Nevada SB251: This bill would include “policies for the transfer and reassignment” of school district employees who are not teachers as mandatory subjects of collective bargaining.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Education Committee hearing May 18. Committee reported favorably May 19. Read second time May 22. Read third time, passed May 26. In Senate, to enrollment May 26. Enrolled and delivered to governor May 29. Governor vetoed June 3. Special order of business in Senate June 5; no further consideration.
Nevada SB264: As amended, this bill would stipulate that civilian employees of metropolitan police departments “may be a member of an employee organization only if such employee organization is composed exclusively of civilian employees of a metropolitan police department.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Assembly Government Affairs Committee reported favorably May 18. Read second time May 19. Read third time, passed May 23. Enrolled and delivered to governor May 26. Governor signed May 30.
New Hampshire HB150: This bill would decrease the number of employees required to certify a public employee collective bargaining unit from 10 to five.
- Motion to rerefer to committee failed, motion to lay on table adopted May 18. Pending motion inexpedient to legislate.
New Hampshire SB193: This bill would stipulate that negotiating in good faith requires parties to meet for bargaining within 10 business days of receiving a written request, unless mutually agreed otherwise.
- Bipartisan sponsorship.
- House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee executive session May 25. Committee reported June 1: majority reported ought to pass with amendment, minority reported inexpedient to legislate. House adopted committee motion, adopted amendment June 8.
Ohio HB151 and Ohio SB83: These bills would amend a list of public employees who are not allowed to strike to include all employees of public higher education institutions.
- Republican sponsorship.
- HB151: House Higher Education Committee hearing May 17.
- SB83: Senate passed May 17. Introduced in the House May 22. Referred to House Higher Education Committee May 23. House Higher Education Committee hearing May 24.
Oregon SB194: This bill would exclude certain Oregon State Police employees from being defined as supervisory employees for collective bargaining purposes.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate president and speaker of the House signed May 16. Enacted without governor’s signature. Effective date Jan. 1, 2024.
Pennsylvania HB950: This bill proposes the following amendment to the state constitution: “Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work. No law shall be passed that interferes with, negates or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment and work place safety, including any law or ordinance that prohibits the execution or application of agreements between employers and labor organizations that represent employees requiring membership in an organization as a condition of employment.”
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Referred to Senate State Government Committee May 15.
Pennsylvania SB720: This bill would expand collective bargaining rights for school administrators, applying existing collective bargaining rights to school administrators employed by a first-class school district in addition to administrators employed by a first-class city.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Referred to Senate Labor and Industry Committee June 2.
Rhode Island S0426: This bill would establish a dispute arbitration method for municipal employees.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- Senate read and passed May 11. Referred to House Labor Committee May 12.
Tennessee HB0329 and Tennessee SB0281: As amended, these bills would prohibit local education agencies from deducting union dues from employee wages.
- Republican sponsorship.
- Governor signed SB0281 May 16, effective July 1, 2023.
Texas SB736: This bill would establish mandatory binding interest arbitration for fire departments serving a municipality of at least 1.9 million people.
- Democratic sponsorship.
- House read second time May 19. Read third time, passed May 22. Sent to governor May 25. Governor signed June 2. Effective immediately.

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