Five In-Home Supportive Service (“IHSS”) providers filed a class-action lawsuit last month challenging their union’s practice of deducting union dues despite their quitting the union. The workers allege their First Amendment rights are being violated by the union deducting dues from their paychecks and using it to subsidize union speech.  Just one year ago, the United States Supreme Court held that it is a violation of the First Amendment to require public sector employees who are not members of a union to pay any union dues, even when a portion of those dues is attributable to the costs of collective bargaining on behalf of all employees.

While an IHSS provider can resign from the union at any time, the employees allege that the union continues to deduct and collect union dues from them even after they have resigned from the union.  The employees seek to certify a class of IHSS providers from whom union dues can be deducted after the individual provided notice that he or she opposed paying dues.

The lawsuit requests declaratory judgment that deducting and collecting union dues from class members violates the First Amendment, as well as injunctive relief enjoining the union from deducting and collecting union dues from class members.