| Item Title: | Resolution No. 2015-16.33 Authorizing District to Join in Amicus Curiae Brief to be Filed with U.S. Supreme Court in the Matter of Friedrichs v. Cal. Teachers Ass’n (10 Mins/Action) |
| Item Type: | Action |
| Background: | At the Board’s most recent meeting, Board members expressed an interest in learning more about a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Board also expressed interest in how to communicate its position on the case to the Court. The case, Friedrichs v. Cal. Teachers Ass’n, Docket No. 14-915 (OT 2015), challenges the “fair share service fees” currently required by the California Educational Employment Rights Act (“EERA”).
Since 1976, EERA has granted most District employees the right to designate an exclusive representative (or “union”) to bargain with the District over the terms and conditions of employment with the District. EERA does not require all employees in a unionized district to join a union, but it does provide for such employees to pay a “fair share services fee” to cover the union’s costs of representing nonmember employees. The petitioners in Friedrichs claim that the EERA fair share service fee burdens their First Amendment rights and seek to eliminate all fair share fee requirements for all government employee unions nationwide.
In response, a group of school districts have received permission to file a nonparty “friend of the court” brief with the Court. The brief will explain the potential effects on districts if fair share service fees are eliminated. The District has been invited to join in the brief. If approved, this resolution would authorize the District to join the brief as a nonparty friend of the court.
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| Goals: | Board initiative. |
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Fiscal Analysis
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Brief is being prepared pro bono by an outside law firm. |
| Department Budget: | N/A |
| Recommendation: | Other |
| Presented per Board request. |
| AUSD Guiding Principle: | #5 - Accountability, transparency, and trust are necessary at all levels of the organization.| #7 - All employees must receive respectful treatment and professional support to achieve district goals. |
| Submitted By: | Board Request |