Illinois Bars Local Right-to-Work Laws

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed into law a measure prohibiting local governments in the state from creating right-to-work zones in their areas, as some are trying to do.

The act says that only the state can enact laws relating to collective bargaining in Illinois, including right-to-work laws that prohibit employers from requiring union membership as a condition for employment.

Courts have struggled over the question of whether local right-to-work ordinances violate federal law. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago recently held that a right-to-work ordinance in Lincolnshire, Ill., was illegal for that reason. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, upheld a local right-to-work ordinance in Kentucky in 2016 after considering similar arguments.

When there is a such a conflict in rulings issued in courts of appeal, the issues are often eventually resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.