Among the slew of amicus briefs submitted on behalf of the petitioners in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, one brief in particular is starting to attract some extra attention. The New York Times reported today on an ongoing battle between Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and the state’s attorney general, Lisa Madigan, over an amicus brief filed on behalf of “Bruce Rauner, Governor of Illinois” and certain administrative staff of an Illinois school district. In a letter submitted to the Supreme Court earlier this month, Illinois Solicitor General Carolyn Shapiro alleged that the filing was “unauthorized” because “neither the governor nor his attorneys have the authority, as a matter of state law, to represent the state or its officials in any court or to determine the state’s litigation positions.”
Writing in his own letter to the Court, the governor’s general counsel initially claimed that the brief was filed “only in [Governor Rauner’s] individual capacity.” However, Solicitor General Shapiro responded by pointing out that the governor’s brief “makes no such claim” and moreover, that “it would be unlawful for . . . state employees paid from public tax revenues . . . to represent Mr. Rauner in his individual capacity in any matter.” The governor’s staff subsequently clarified in an email to the Times that Governor Rauner “‘filed the brief in his official capacity’ but ‘was speaking on behalf of his office only.'”
The Times notes that although “[t]he charges in Ms. Shapiro’s letters may be correct, . . . it is hard to see what they accomplish” given that “[s]he did not ask the Supreme Court to reject the governor’s brief” and may in fact “have piqued the justices’ interest in it.” Rather than seeking the brief’s rescission, suggests Professor Neal Devins of William & Mary Law School, “[p]erhaps the A.G. wants to signal to home state constituents that the governor is lawless and is seeking political advantage by embarrassing him.” Notably, Illinois was the site of the most recent clash over union fees to land before the Supreme Court, Harris v. Quinn.
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July 15
The Department of Labor announces new guidance around Occupational Safety and Health Administration penalty and debt collection procedures; a Cornell University graduate student challenges graduate student employee-status under the National Labor Relations Act; the Supreme Court clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with a significant staff reduction at the Department of Education.
July 14
More circuits weigh in on two-step certification; Uber challengers Seattle deactivation ordinance.
July 13
APWU and USPS ratify a new contract, ICE barred from racial profiling in Los Angeles, and the fight continues over the dismantling of NIOSH
July 11
Regional director orders election without Board quorum; 9th Circuit pauses injunction on Executive Order; Driverless car legislation in Massachusetts
July 10
Wisconsin Supreme Court holds UW Health nurses are not covered by Wisconsin’s Labor Peace Act; a district judge denies the request to stay an injunction pending appeal; the NFLPA appeals an arbitration decision.
July 9
the Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings; Secretary of Agriculture suggests Medicaid recipients replace deported migrant farmworkers; DHS ends TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras