Court rejects request to rehear union case

The Supreme Court has refused to rehear a case concerning whether public-sector employees can be forced to pay union fees after reaching a deadlock earlier this year.

{mosads}The conservative Center for Individual Rights asked the court to rehear the case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The court handed a victory to labor unions in April when it affirmed a lower court ruling in a 4-4 tie, upholding a California law that requires some public-sector workers to pay union fees.  

The law at the center of the case allows school districts to require public school teachers, as a condition of employment, to either join the union representing teachers in their district or pay the equivalent of dues to that union — typically 2 percent of a new teacher’s salary.

In its petition, CIR said the questions presented are “too important to leave unsettled with an affirmance by an equally divided Court, and they are guaranteed to recur in the absence of a definitive ruling from this court.”   

The court rejected the request without explanation in releasing other miscellaneous orders Tuesday, a day after ending its current term.