One of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s top priorities is protecting state right-to-work laws from spurious attacks by unions in state and federal court. These laws prohibit union bosses from forcing workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

Foundation staff attorneys have successfully pursued legal action to defend and enforce new right-to-work laws in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Kentucky, that have been passed into law over the last eight years.

Foundation staff attorney are currently fighting on behalf of West Virginia’s right-to-work law in a multi-year case brought by unions. In this case,  union lawyers are seeking to dismantle West Virginia’s right-to-work law and restore their forced-dues powers over workers across the Mountain State.

Foundation staff attorneys have filed 10 legal briefs in the case. The Foundation’s latest amicus brief was filed for West Virginia nursing home employee Donna Harper. Harper, like many other workers in West Virginia, chose not to pay dues or fees to union bosses, which is her legal right in a right-to-work state.

In addition to defending state right-to-work laws, the Foundation has litigated hundreds of cases in right-to-work states to enforce workers’ rights to stop dues payments when scofflaw union bosses violate the law. In Michigan alone, Foundation staff attorneys have assisted employees in over 100 cases since right-to-work went into effect in early 2013.