Harris v. Quinn
United States Supreme Court
134 S. Ct. 2618 (2014)
Illinois Medicaid recipients could hire personal assistants (PAs) to provide home care, controlling most aspects of the employment relationship themselves, while the state paid the PAs' wages. Illinois designated PAs as public employees solely for collective-bargaining purposes, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana (defendant) became their bargaining representative, collecting over $3.6 million yearly in dues from members and nonmembers alike. A group of PAs (plaintiffs) sued, arguing that forcing nonmembers to pay dues violated the First Amendment. The lower courts upheld the arrangement.
Whether a law that forces individuals to fund a union's speech must serve a compelling state interest that could not be achieved through significantly less restrictive means.