Home health care workers do not have their First Amendment rights violated when union groups bargain on behalf of workers in Illinois, a Federal judge ruled.
The issue stems from a lawsuit filed by a Illinois home health care worker named Rebecca Hill and others, who argued that allowing a union group—the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in this case—to bargain on behalf of all home health care workers was a violation of their First Amendment rights.
SEIU is the collective bargaining representative for public home health care workers in Illinois, which allows public employees to select a representative by vote to negotiate benefits with the state. Several other states have similar laws.
SEIU, the collective bargaining representative for public home health care workers in Illinois, allows public employees to select a representative by vote to negotiate benefits with the state. Several other states have similar laws.
Roughly 85,000 individuals are paid by the state of Illinois to provide home health care and child care services as employees under the collective bargaining, Bloomberg BNA reported.
Earlier, a U.S. District Court Judge in Illinois shot down Hill’s argument and ruled that because Illinois home health and home care workers are not required to join a union, their rights are not violated.
A Federal judge from the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the previous ruling on March 9, 2017.
Written by Amy Baxter