Earlier this week, a Reagan-appointed judge in the Western District of Washington struck a blow against Janus inspired litigation in favor of fairness and common sense. The judge ruled in Danielson v. AFSCME that the Janus v. AFSCME opinion, which overruled decades of precedent, should not be applied retroactively to make a union reimburse fair share fees collected before Janus came down. The judge held that the unions acted in good faith and that their actions were authorized by law.

Although this is just one ruling by one judge, we believe it is the correct result and hope that other courts faced with this question will come out the same way. In any event, these questions will most likely make their way up to the Courts of Appeal for resolution, and may even reach the United States Supreme Court.

We will continue keeping our eye on these and other Janus-related cases, and will update you as developments happen. For more information on these and other Janus-related questions, contact Gary Messing or Gregg Adam.