MEMORANDUM OF LAW & ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION
This matter is before the Court on State Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Docket No. 88] and Defendant SEIU Healthcare Minnesota’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Docket No. 92]. Because Minnesota’s certification of SEIU did not infringe on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights, Defendants’ motions are granted.
II. BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
1. Minnesota’s Homecare Program
The State of Minnesota has several programs through which it pays homecare providers to deliver vital “direct support services” to individuals with disabilities or the elderly. See Minn. Stat. § 256B.0711, subd. 1(b). These support services include assisting with the “activities of daily living,” such as “grooming, dressing, bathing, transferring, mobility, positioning, eating, and toileting,” and the “instrumental activities of daily living,” such as “meal planning and preparation; basic assistance with paying bills; shopping for food, clothing, and other essential items ... and traveling, including to medical appointments and to participate in the community.” Minn. Stat. § 256B.0711, subd. 1(c); § 256B.0659, subd. 1(b), (i).
The recipients of homecare, the participants, have the authority to choose and supervise their own providers; but the Minnesota Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) retains the authority to set the economic terms of employment for the individual providers. Minn. Stat. § 256B.0711, subd. 1(d), subd, 4. The Commissioner has authority to establish “compensation rates,” “payment terms and practices,” “benefit terms,” “orientation programs,” “training and educational opportunities,” a “public registry” of individual providers available for work, and “other appropriate terms and conditions of employment governing the workforce of individual providers.” Minn. Stat. § 256B.0711, subd. 4(c).
2. The Public Employment Labor Relations Act
Minnesota’s Public Employment Labor Relations Act (“PELRA”) gives public employees “the right by secret ballot to designate an exclusive representative to negotiate ... the terms and conditions of employment with their employer.” Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 2. If a union presents the Commissioner of the Bureau of Mediation Services (“BMS”) with a petition representing that at least 30 percent of the proposed bargaining unit desire representation by that union, then the union may obtain a certification election. Minn. Stat. § 179A.12, subd. 3. If the union then receives a majority of the votes cast in the certification election, the BMS Commissioner will certify that union as the exclusive representative of all employees in that bargaining unit. Id, subd. 10.
Once a union is certified under PELRA, the public employer “has an obligation to meet and negotiate in good faith with the exclusive representative... regarding ... the terms and conditions of employment.”
If a union is certified under PELRA, the employees in the bargaining unit are not required to become members of the union: PELRA gives employees “the right not to ... join such organizations” and makes it an “unfair labor practice” for public employers or employee organizations to “restraint ] or coercet ]” employees in the exercise of that right or for public employers to “discriminatfe] in regard to hire or tenure to encourage or discourage membership in an employee organization.” Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 2; § 179A.13, subds. 1, 2(1), 2(3), 3(1). Also, the appointment of a PELRA exclusive representative does
not affect the right of any public employee or the employee’s representative to express or communicate a view, grievance, complaint, or opinion on any matter related to the conditions or compensation of public employment or their betterment, so long as this is not designed to and does not interfere with the full faithful and proper performance of the duties of employment or circumvent the rights of the exclusive representative.
Minn, Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 1.
Under PELRA, unions are permitted, but not required, to assess fair share fees to non-members. Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd 3.
3. The Individual Providers of Direct Support Services Representation Act
On May 24, 2013, Defendant Governor Mark Dayton signed the Individual Providers of Direct Support Services Representation Act (the “Act”). 2013 Minn. Law Ch. 128, Art. 2, codified at Minn. Stat. §§ 179A.54, 256B.0711. The Act provides that, “[f]or the purposes of [PELRA], individual [homecare] providers shall be considered ... executive branch state employees.... This section does not require the treatment of individual providers as public employees for any other purpose.” Minn. Stat. § 179A.54, subd. 2; see also Minn. Stat. §§ 179A.54, subd. 1(b); 256B.0711, subd. 1(d).
If an exclusive representative is certified under the procedures set forth in PELRA, the State and exclusive representative’s “mutual rights and obligations... to meet and negotiate regarding terms and conditions shall extend to[:]” “compensation rates, payment terms and practices, and any benefit terms;” “required orientation programs;” “relevant training and educational opportunities;” “the maintenance of a public registry of individuals who have consented to be included;” and “other appropriate terms and conditions of employment governing the workforce of individual providers.” Minn. Stat. § 179A.54, subd. 3; § 256B.0711, subd. 4(c). If a contract results from the negotiations, it must be approved or disapproved by the legislature. Minn. Stat. § 179A.54, subd. 5; § 256B.0711, subd 4(d).
No provision of any agreement reached between the state and any exclusive representative of individual providers... shall interfere with the rights of participants or participants’ representatives to select, hire, direct, supervise, and terminate the employment of their individual providers; to manage an individual service budget regarding the amounts and types of authorized goods or services received; or to receive direct support services from individual providers not referred to them through a state registry.
Minn. Stat. § 179A.54, subd. 4.
Any employee organization wishing to represent homecare providers may seek
4. The Election .
On June 30, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Harris v. Quinn, — U.S. —,
On July 8, 2014, Defendant SEIU Healthcare Minnesota (“SEIU”) submitted an official petition to BMS requesting an election to certify it as the exclusive representative for Minnesota homecare providers. (Am. Compl. ¶ 31; State Def. Ans. ¶ 25; SIEU Ans. ¶ 31.)
On August 1, BMS started the election by mailing ballots to the approximately 27,000 providers who are eligible to vote. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 31-32; State Def. Ans. ¶ 25; SEIU Ans. ¶¶ 31-32.) On August 26, 2014, BMS tabulated the ballots and certified SEIU as the exclusive representative. (Id.) See also Minn. Stat. § 179A.12, subd. 10.
5. Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs are nine persons who provide in-home care to a son" or daughter with disabilities in Minnesota. The family mém-bers to whom Plaintiffs provide care are participants in State Medicaid programs that pay for in-home care and other services that allow persons with disabilities to live in their homes instead of in institutions. Plaintiffs do not want SEIU to be their certified exclusive representative. (See Am. Compl. ¶¶4-13, 33.) Under Minnesota law, Plaintiffs are “individual provider[s],” defined as' “individuals] selected by and working under the direction of a participant in a covered program, or a participant’s representative, to provide direct support services to the participant.” Minn. Stat. § 256B.0711, subd. 1(d).
B. Procedural History
On July 28, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint in this Court against Governor Mark Dayton; BMS Commissioner Josh Tilsen; DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson; and SEIU. Emily Johnson Piper, the current DHS Commissioner, was automatically substituted for Jesson under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d). Dayton, Tilsen, and Piper are collectively referred to as the “State Defendants.”
The Complaint asserted Count I: State certification of an exclusive representative] for Individual Providers will violate 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States Constitution; Count II: Subjecting Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to a majority vote violates 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States Constitution; and Count III: Compulsory financial support for an exclusive representative will. violate 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States Constitution.
On July 30, Plaintiffs filed á Motion for an Expedited Preliminary Injunction, requesting that the Court enjoin Defendants from implementing or enforcing the Act. The motion was based on Counts I and II of the Complaint. Specifically, Plaintiffs requested that the Court enjoin Defendants from conducting the certification election and from certifying SEIU as the exclusive representative of Plaintiffs and other individual providers. On August 20, 2014, this Court issued an Order denying Plaintiffs’ motion. [Docket No. 50]; Bierman v. Dayton, No. Civ. 14-3021 (MJD/LIB),
As previously noted, on August 26, 2014, BMS tabulated the election results and certified SEIU as the exclusive representative. On September 2, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint against the same Defendants, asserting: Count I: State certification of an exclusive representative] for individual providers will violate 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States Constitution; and Count II: Subjecting Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to a majority vote violates 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the United States Constitution. On August 27, 2014, Plaintiffs’ filed a Motion to Renew Their Motion for an Expedited Preliminary Injunction based solely on Count I of the Amended Complaint. [Docket No. 52] On October 22, 2014, the Court denied the renewed motion for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that Plaintiffs were unlikely to prove an infringement of their First Amendment Rights. [Docket No. 69]; Bierman v. Dayton, No. Civ. 14-3021 (MJD/LIB),
On March 11, 2015, the Minnesota Legislature was informed that Minnesota Management and Budget and DHS had reached an agreement with SEIU for the period July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017. (Garcia Decl., Ex. C.) Under the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) providers would receive a minimum wage of $11 per hour and paid time off, a new orientation program was established, a grievance procedure was established, and an online registry would be developed to match providers and clients. (Id. at 4.) The CBA did not require nonmembers of the union to pay any dues or fees. (Garcia Decl;, Exs. B-C.) The Minnesota legislature ratified the CBA. On May 22, 2015, Governor Dayton signed the bill ratifying the CBA and increasing funding for the State’s homecare programs. (Garcia Deck ¶2.) 2015 Minn. Law Ch. 71, Art. 7 §§ 52-53.
Defendants have now filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings on the grounds Plaintiffs lack standing and that Plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
III. STANDING
A. Standing Standard
“[N]o principle is more fundamental to the judiciary’s proper rolé in our system of government than the constitutional limitation of federal-court jurisdiction to actual cases or controversies. One element of the ease-or-controversy requirement is that plaintiffs must establish that they have standing to sue.” Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA,
B. Standing Discussion
Defendants argue that Plaintiffs lack standing because their associational rights have not, in fact, been infringed, so Plaintiffs lack a judicially cognizable injury.
Plaintiffs claim that they are injured by the fact that SEIU has been certified as the exclusive representative for their bargaining unit. The alleged injury to their First Amendment freedom of association is caused by the State’s certification. Finally, a favorable decision by this Court, barring certification would address the alleged injury. The Court concludes that Plaintiffs have standing to assert their claims set forth in the Amended Complaint.
IV. MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS
A. Standard for Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
“A motion for judgment on the pleadings will be granted only where the moving party has clearly established that no material issue of fact remains and the moving party is entitled to judgment a¡? a matter of law.” Waldron v. Boeing Co.,
SEIU requests that the Court take judicial notice of three documents attached to the Declaration of Kristin Garcia: 2015 Minnesota Laws Chapter 71, SF 1458 (ratifying the CBA between SEIU and the State); the CBA; and the March 11, 2015 Report to the Subcommittee on Employee Relations, Legislative Coordinating Commission, State of Minnesota (summarizing terms of the CBA). ([Docket No. 96] Garcia Deck, Exs. A-C.) Plaintiffs do not oppose the request for judicial notice. (Opp. Brief at 1.)
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 201(b), a “court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it: (1) is generally known within the trial court’s territorial jurisdiction; or (2) can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.” Each of the documents at issue is an official public record of the Minnesota Legislature and is relevant to the motion before the Court. SEIU’s request for judicial notice is granted.
B. Count 1: Whether Certification of an Exclusive Representative, Absent Fair Share Fees, Infringes Plaintiffs’ First Amendment Right to Association to Petition the Government a) The Right Not to Associate
The First Amendment guarantees each individual the right to associate for expressive purposes, including a right to associate for purposes of petitioning the government and influencing public policy. See Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley,
b) Whether Exclusive Representation Compels Association
Plaintiffs assert that State certification of an exclusive representative for homecare providers affiliates Plaintiffs with SEIU’s petitioning, speech, and policy positions. They raise substantially the same arguments that they did in support of their renewed motion for an expedited preliminary injunction.
As the Court previously explained, although SEIU has been certified as the exclusive representative, Plaintiffs are not forced to associate with SEIU. They are not required to join SEIU. See Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 2. They are not required to financially contribute to SEIU. They remain free to petition the State on all issues related to the homecare programs and to vociferously criticize SEIU. See Minn. Stat. § 179A.06, subd. 1; Minn. Stat. § 179A.54, subd. 2. .
Simply because the State has chosen to listen to SEIU on issues that are related to Plaintiffs’ employment does not mean that Plaintiffs are being forced to associate with SEIU. Instead, as the Supreme Court recognized in Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight, the State of “Minnesota has simply restricted the class of persons to whom it will listen in its making of policy.”
The very system by which bargaining unit members select a PELRA exclusive representative through majority vote makes clear that not all bargaining unit members necessarily support the representative’s positions. See Knight,
The Court remains mindful of its role as a federal court being asked to interfere with a state’s policy decision of how to gather information in order to make Medicaid policy. The Supreme Court recognized the “federalism and separation-of-powers concerns [that] would be implicated in the massive intrusion into state ... policymaking that recognition of the claimed right [to be listened to by the government] would entail.” Knight,
Despite Plaintiffs’ continued insistence, cases such as Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Grp. have, no application here.
Similarly, Plaintiffs are not required to display particular messages on their personal property. Cf. Wooley v. Maynard,
Additionally, the fact that, because it has been certified, SEIU owes a fiduciary-like
Finally, the Court holds that Harris v. Quinn has no application in this case. — U.S. —,
The Court concludes that the State’s certification of SEIU as the exclusive representative under the Act and PELRA does not infringe on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights. See also Jarvis v. Cuomo, No. 16-441-CV,
Because the First Amendment is not violated, the State “need not demonstrate any special justification” for its law. Univ. of Pa. v. EEOC,
C. Count 2: Whether Holding an Election Regarding Whether to Certify a Union Violates the First Amendment
In the Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs assert that “Defendants are violating Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights, as secured against state infringement by the Fourteenth Amendment ..., by putting to a majority vote the individual right of'each Plaintiff and Individual Provider to choose which organization, if any, he or she associates with for petitioning the State over its Medicaid policies.” (Am. Compl. ¶40.) Plaintiffs argue that their First Amendment “rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.” W. Va. State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette,
As the Court previously explained in ruling on Plaintiffs’ motion for an expedited preliminary injunction, the Court finds no support for Plaintiffs’ assertion that their constitutional rights are violated by the mere fact that a vote is occurring, which may or may not result in an action that Plaintiffs claim would violate their constitutional rights. In any case, the Court has now ruled that the certification of an exclusive representative for home-
Accordingly, based upon the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
1. State Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Docket No. 88] is GRANTED.
2. Defendant SEIU Healthcare Minnesota’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Docket No. 92] is GRANTED.
3. Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.