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DOCKET SUMMARIES
SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI
Monday, November 16, 2020
Scheduled for 1:30 p.m. – SC98412
Missouri National Education Association, et al. v. Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, et al., Ferguson-Florissant School District, et al.
St. Louis County
Challenge to the constitutional validity of public-sector employee labor laws
Listen to the oral argument: SC98412 MP3 file
The state was represented during arguments by Solicitor General D. John Sauer of the attorney general’s office in Jefferson City; the unions were represented by Jason Walta, deputy general counsel of the National Education Association in Washington, D.C.
In 2018, House Bill No. 1413 was enacted. HB 1413 amended several statutory provisions relating to public-sector employee labor laws. Seven labor unions subsequently filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against several state agencies, school districts, county officials and municipal entities (collectively, the state) challenging the constitutional validity of the statutes HB 1413 amended. The circuit court entered a preliminary injunction preventing the implementation and enforcement of HB 1413. The labor unions then moved for summary judgment (judgment on the court filings, without a trial). In response, the state filed expert affidavits regarding the rationale for implementing several of HB 1413’s provisions. The circuit court granted summary judgment in the labor unions’ favor, finding various provisions of HB 1413 violated public-sector employees’ constitutional rights to collective bargaining and free speech and could not be severed from the remainder of the bill. The circuit court, therefore, permanently enjoined enforcement of HB 1413 in its entirety. The state appeals.
This case presents several questions for this Court. The first involves whether HB 1413 infringes on public employees’ constitutional right to bargain collectively. Related issues include whether regulating the outcome of the bargaining regarding certain topics violates the state constitution; whether HB 1413 effectively prevents public employees from selecting union representatives of their choosing by use of secret ballot elections, periodic recertification and true-majority requirements; and whether HB 1413 satisfies strict or immediate scrutiny, if applicable. Another question involves whether HB 1413’s public-safety exemption violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution. Related issues include whether non-public safety unions are a suspect class; whether public employees’ right to collective bargaining is a fundamental right for equal protection purposes; and whether the public-safety exemption satisfies the rational basis test or any other level of scrutiny. Another question involves whether HB 1413 infringes on public employees’ right to freedom of speech and association. Related issues include whether HB 1413’s annual certification requirements or disclosure and reporting requirements place discriminatory burdens on speech or association. Other questions involve whether the state’s expert affidavits precluded the entry of summary judgment; whether HB 1413’s provisions were facially invalid; and whether any constitutionally invalid provisions of HB 1413 can be severed.