Public Employee Rights: Hudson Notices

Public Employees' freedom form compelled speech safeguards were set forth by the Supreme Court in 1986 in the Hudson decision [Teachers Local No. 1 v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292 (1986)]. These safeguards include advance reduction; that is, if an employee objects to the use of his money for purposes other than collective bargaining, the union is supposed to collect from him only the amount that the union concedes goes towards collective bargaining costs, and not collect full dues and then later give the employee a rebate. The second safeguard Hudson put in place is a notice requirement for the basis of the calculation of the reduced amount, including verification by an independent auditor. There also is supposed to be an opportunity for prompt review, if anyone wants to challenge the calculation, before an impartial decision-maker, and the money is supposed to be held in escrow while such challenges are pending.

Current NRTW case at the Supreme Court is Knox v. SEIU; a ruling is expected Spring of 2012