Mark Janus

Mark Janus is a government employee who challenged a law requiring public sector workers to pay agency fees—money used to cover collective bargaining costs—even if they choose not to join a union. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that such mandatory fees violate the First Amendment’s free speech rights, meaning public employees cannot be compelled to pay union fees that fund political or ideological activities they might disagree with. This decision significantly impacted union financing and the collective bargaining landscape for government workers.