Full Appeals Court Won’t Hear Wisconsin Right-To-Work Challenge

A full federal appeals court will not hear a challenge to Wisconsin’s right-to-work law.

The law prohibits businesses and unions from reaching deals that require all workers to pay union dues. Unions maintain the law enables nonunion members to receive free representation. Two chapters of the International Union of Operating Engineers filed a lawsuit in 2016 alleging that amounts to an unconstitutional taking.

A three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law this past July. The unions petitioned the court for all its judges to consider the case.

The court issued an order on Friday denying the petition, saying no active judges have asked for a vote on the request and the judges on the original panel have voted to deny it.