Union Defense Holds in Fee Clawback Suits as More Tests Loom

Public sector unions’ defense against refunding nonmember fees recently withstood its first appellate court challenge, but a series of pending cases could decide whether it will keep union coffers protected against an onslaught of lawsuits.

Nonunion government workers have sued public sector unions across the country claiming the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME—which said nonmembers can’t be required to pay for collective bargaining and other nonpolitical expenses—demands that previously paid fees should be returned.

Unions, however, argue they relied in good faith on longstanding Supreme Court precedent and state law implementing that precedent when they ...