Teachers Sue to Stop Union Fee Collections

Some public-sector employees want refunds of the union “agency fees” they unwillingly handed over before the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed mandatory payments.

A group of current and former public school teachers in California are demanding in a federal lawsuit that their unions stop collecting the fees and return those already paid. The workers are relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME on agency fees, which nonmembers pay to fund collective bargaining efforts.

The effects of Janus are just starting to be seen as local government entities re-examine their duties in the wake of the ...