Refund Suit Against Chicago Teachers Union Heads to 7th Circuit

The Chicago Teachers Union will face an appeal to the Seventh Circuit of a nonmember’s lawsuit seeking the return of “fair share” fees it collected before the U.S. Supreme Court held the mandatory fees unconstitutional.

The suit, which a Chicago federal judge threw out last month, is part of a wave of fee-refund cases brought by nonunion public school teachers since 2018’s Janus v. AFSCME. The high court held in Janus that forcing nonmembers to help cover collective bargaining costs violated the First Amendment.

In addition to seeking the return of pre-Janus fees, the proposed class action ...