The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of association. This right means the government cannot force someone to associate with another against that individual’s wishes or beliefs. In Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the freedom of association applies in the employment context. Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled that government entities could not force government employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment.
In Kentucky, the General Assembly has taken that principle a step further. Since legislators passed House Bill 1 in 2017, private employers may not require employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment. These types of laws are commonly known as "right-to-work." By enacting right-to-work in Kentucky, the General Assembly affirmed its stance that employees should be free to associate with a union or not.
Between the Janus decision and right-to-work, the freedom of association for most...
Grace Kang has worked as an attorney specializing in intellectual property and business law for 20 years, the last 16 in the greater Los Angeles area. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she said h...