A divided U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a California regulation allowing organizers for the United Farm Workers union to access an agricultural employer’s property without compensating the employer violates the so-called “Takings Clause” of the U.S. Constitution.
In Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, No. 20-107 (U.S. June 23, 2021), the Court’s conservative majority ruled 6 – 3 that a regulation implementing the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (CALRA) of 1975 violates the Takings Clause, stating that “when the government physically acquires private property for a public use, the Takings Clause imposes a clear and categorical obligation to provide the owner with just compensation.”
While the ruling has no direct impact on the rights of employers and unions created under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), it does have direct implications for any similar state or local laws that grant unions access to an employer’s property. It also signals the direction the Court may be leaning on the broader question of how much access to employer property should be given to non-employee union organizers.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.