CHICAGO (Oct. 11, 2018) – The Liberty Justice Center was recognized this morning for its U.S. Supreme Court victory in the landmark case Janus v. AFSCME at the State Policy Network 26th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together with the Illinois Policy Institute, the public interest law firm received the “Bob Williams Award for Outstanding Policy Achievement” in the category “Biggest Win.”
This award recognizes “the organization whose effort was instrumental toward securing a significant policy victory this year.” The Liberty Justice Center represented plaintiff Mark Janus in the Janus case.
On June 27, 2018, the High Court ruled that it is illegal to require government workers to pay dues or fees to a government union as a condition of employment. The Court said government employers may only deduct union dues or fees from an employee’s paycheck if the employee has “clearly and affirmatively” consented to the deduction.
Upon receiving the “Biggest Win” award, Liberty Justice Center president and co-founder Patrick Hughes said: “The biggest winners in Janus v. AFSCME are the five million government workers in 22 states who now have the right to leave their union or stop paying nonmember ‘fair share’ fees. While this victory reverberates nationwide, the fight to fully secure the constitutional rights of public sector workers is not over. The Liberty Justice Center is prepared to pursue compliance from these states to ensure every worker has the opportunity to freely exercise his or her rights.”