Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees

Decided June 27, 2018. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-1466 · 585 U.S. 878 (2018) · Cited 545 times

Holding

The State of Illinois’ extraction of agency fees from nonconsenting public-sector employees violates the First Amendment; Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., 431 U. S. 209, which concluded otherwise, is overruled.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education · 431 U.S. 209 (1977)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Assn. · 500 U.S. 507 (1991)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Snyder v. Phelps · 562 U.S. 443 (2011)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson · 475 U.S. 292 (1986)
• Branti v. Finkel · 445 U.S. 507 (1980)
• Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture · 553 U.S. 591 (2008)
• Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 323 U.S. 192 (1944)
• Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois · 497 U.S. 62 (1990)
• Riley v. National Federation of Blind of North Carolina, Inc. · 487 U.S. 781 (1988)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• United States v. United Foods, Inc. · 533 U.S. 405 (2001)
• United States v. Gaudin · 515 U.S. 506 (1995)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Rankin v. McPherson · 483 U.S. 378 (1987)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes · 466 U.S. 435 (1984)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Knick v. Township of Scott · 588 U.S. 180 (2019)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt · 587 U.S. 230 (2019)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).