No. 21-575

Freedom Foundation v. Washington Department of Ecology, et al.

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-10-20
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (1)Response Waived Experienced Counsel
Tags: civil-rights first-amendment free-speech freedom-of-speech public-employee-unions public-employees right-to-work state-action unions viewpoint-discrimination
Key Terms:
FirstAmendment LaborRelations Privacy
Latest Conference: 2021-12-10
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does state action that supports speech by public employee unions to public employees advocating union membership and disfavors speech by right-to-work advocates to the same public employees on the same topic constitute viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED The Washington Department of Ecology invites union representatives and other visitors to the agency’s main lobby to communicate with employees on matters generally related to the agency’s mission and employee interests, including union membership. In response to Freedom Foundation’s efforts to educate state workers about their constitutional rights to decline union membership, the agency revised its visitor policy to bar the Freedom Foundation from communicating to workers in the agencys main lobby while continuing to allow representatives of the Washington Federation of State Employees to use the lobby to encourage employees to join the union. A split panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the policy. Does state action that supports speech by public employee unions to public employees advocating union membership and disfavors speech by right-towork advocates to the same public employees on the same topic constitute viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment?

Docket Entries

2021-12-13
Petition DENIED.
2021-11-23
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/10/2021.
2021-11-19
Brief amicus curiae of National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
2021-11-15
Waiver of right of respondent Washington Department of Ecology, et al. to respond filed.
2021-11-01
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Freedom Foundation
2021-10-18
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 19, 2021)

Attorneys

Freedom Foundation
Deborah Joyce La FetraPacific Legal Foundation, Petitioner
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
Raymond J. LaJeunesse Jr.National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc., Amicus
Washington Department of Ecology, et al.
Noah Guzzo PurcellOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent