In a 6–3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held on June 23, 2021 that a California regulation granting labor organizers the “right to take access” to agricultural employers’ private property to solicit union support violated the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution. See Cedar Point Nursery et al. v. Hassid et al., USSC Case No. 20–107 (June 23, 2021).

Background

Decades ago, California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board (“ALRB”) promulgated a regulation that requires agricultural employers to give labor organizers access to their private property for as much as three hours per day, 120 days per year for purposes of organizing. In 2016, two agricultural employers sued the ALRB in federal court in California, seeking to prohibit the agency from enforcing the regulation because the regulation constituted a physical appropriation of private property in violation of the Constitution’s Taking Clause, which precludes the government from taking private property “without just compensation.”

The district court, however, rejected this argument, holding that because the regulation did not “allow the public to access [the Employers’] property in a permanent and continuous manner for whatever reason,” it did not amount to an unconstitutional physical taking. On appeal, a split Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s decision, noting that the regulation neither allowed the public to “unpredictably traverse” the employers’ private property “24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” nor “completely deprive[d]” the employers of all economically beneficial use of their property. After the Ninth Circuit denied their petition for re-hearing en banc, the employers appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari.

Holding

The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit, reasoning that because the right to exclude third parties from private property “is ‘one of the most treasured’ rights of property ownership,” the California regulation requiring agricultural employers to allow union organizers private-property access constituted a clear physical appropriation. In such cases, because the physical appropriation of private property is so clear, the Court “use[s] a simple, per se rule: The government must pay for what it takes.” The Court then distinguished PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins—a 1980 case in which the Court rejected the argument that state protection of leafletting in a privately owned shopping center represented an unconstitutional taking—explaining that, unlike the agricultural employers’ private property, the shopping center in Pruneyard “was open to the public, welcoming some 25,000 patrons a day.” See 447 U.S. 74. Notably, the Court also implied that the narrow exception enjoyed by unions under current federal labor law—which allows non-employee organizers a right of access to employers’ private property when employees are otherwise “beyond the reach of reasonable union efforts to communicate with them”—could similarly prove to be an unconstitutional taking, if challenged.

Potential Impact of the Decision

For the parties, the main question left open by the Supreme Court’s decision is, what is the appropriate remedy for the unconstitutional taking here?  In other words, should the property owners be granted injunctive relief, as they requested, and/or should the property owners be compensated for the access granted to organizers? And if so, how much?  The Court remanded the case to the federal district court to handle this question.

This case is interesting for management- and union-side labor lawyers alike because the regulation at issue provided for a union’s right to access employer property, directly impacting the traditional labor-management relationship. What is particularly unique about this case is that state and local labor laws are usually challenged on preemption grounds (i.e., the aggrieved party argues the state or local regulation is preempted because such conduct is arguably protected or prohibited by federal labor law). Here, however, the law did not face a preemption challenge—likely because agricultural employers fall outside the NLRA’s scope. Depending on the facts, the potential avenue for redress under the Takings Clause could encourage parties to challenge similar state or local regulations that grant third parties access to private property.

Only time will tell, but on balance, this decision’s potential effect on labor-management relations seems limited for at least four reasons:

  • First, while California agricultural employers are no longer required to grant labor organizers access to their private property (unless the state provides “just compensation”), this change applies only to employers in just one industry in just one state—nothing more.
  • Second, according to the Wall Street Journal, even though California has about 16,000 agricultural employers, union organizers have recently invoked their right to access in just a few dozen instances each year.
  • Third, if the State of California opts to keep mandating private-property access for union organizers by providing agricultural employers with “just compensation,” there is no guarantee a windfall will result for agricultural employers, particularly if “just compensation” is determined to be nominal.
  • Finally, even the Court’s suggestion that the “highly contingent” right-of-access current federal labor law affords non-employee union organizers (when employees are beyond “reasonable” communication efforts) could similarly represent an unconstitutional taking seems unlikely to prove consequential. Indeed, because this right of access is limited to extreme situations when employees live or work on highly remote, employer-owned properties (such as logging camps or fish canneries), fact patterns that could enable such a challenge, as a practical matter, would seem few and far between. And even if such a fact pattern did arise—ultimately enabling a successful challenge to the exception—because the exception is so limited, it would naturally impact very few workplaces.
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Photo of Mark Theodore Mark Theodore

Mark Theodore is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department. He has devoted his practice almost exclusively to representing management in all aspects of traditional labor law matters throughout the U.S. He is Co-Chair of Proskauer’s Labor-Management and Collective Bargaining Practice…

Mark Theodore is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department. He has devoted his practice almost exclusively to representing management in all aspects of traditional labor law matters throughout the U.S. He is Co-Chair of Proskauer’s Labor-Management and Collective Bargaining Practice Group.

Some recent highlights of his career include:

  • Successfully defended client against allegations that it had terminated a union supporter and isolated another. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 365 NLRB No. 15 (2017).
  • Successfully appealed NLRB findings that certain of client’s written policies violated the National Labor Relations Actions Act.  T-Mobile USA, Inc., 363 NLRB No. 171 (2016), enf’d in part, rev’d in part 865 F.3d 265 (5th Cir. 2017).
  • Represented major utility in NLRB proceedings related to organizing of planners.  Secured utility-wide bargaining unit. Bargained on behalf of grocery chain.  After negotiations reached an impasse, guided the company through lawful implementation of five year collective bargaining agreement.
  • Coordinated employer response in numerous strike situations including a work stoppage across 14 western states of the client’s operations.

Mark has extensive experience representing employers in all matters before the NLRB, including representation petitions, jurisdictional disputes and the handling of unfair labor practice charges from the date they are filed through trial and appeal. Mark has acted as lead negotiator for dozens of major companies in a variety of industries, including national, multi-unit, multi-location, multi-employer and multi-union bargaining. Mark has handled lockout and strike situations, coordinating the clients efforts.

In addition, Mark has handled hundreds of arbitrations involving virtually every area of dispute, including contract interest arbitration, contract interpretation, just cause termination/discipline, benefits, pay rates, and hours of work.

Photo of Joshua Fox Joshua Fox

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several…

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several Major League Baseball Clubs in all aspects of the salary arbitration process, including the Miami Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. In particular, Josh successfully represented the Miami Marlins in their case against All-Star Catcher J.T. Realmuto, which was a significant club victory in salary arbitration. Josh also represents Major League Baseball and its clubs in ongoing litigation brought by current and former minor league players who allege minimum wage and overtime violations. Josh participated on the team that successfully defended Major League Baseball in a wage-and-hour lawsuit brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star FanFest, who alleged minimum wage violations under federal and state law. The lawsuit was dismissed by the federal district court, and was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Josh also has extensive experience representing professional sports leagues and teams in grievance arbitration proceedings, including playing a vital role in all aspects of the grievance challenging the suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs of then-New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Josh also has counseled NHL Clubs and served on the trial teams for grievances alleging violations of the collective bargaining agreement, including cases involving use of performance-enhancing substances, domestic violence issues, and supplementary discipline for on-ice conduct. He has played a key role in representing professional sports leagues in all aspects of their collective bargaining negotiations with players and officials, including the Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, the Professional Referee Organization, and the National Basketball Association,.

In addition, Josh has extensive experience representing clients in the performing arts industry, including the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Big Apple Circus, among many others, in collective bargaining negotiations with performers and musicians, the administration of their collective bargaining agreements, and in grievance arbitrations.

Josh also represents a diverse range of clients, including real estate developers and contractors, pipe line contractors, hospitals, hotels, manufacturers and public employers, in collective bargaining, counseling on general employment matters and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, New York State Public Employment Relations Board and arbitrators.

Josh has also recently served as an adjunct professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations for the past two years, teaching a course regarding Major League Baseball salary arbitration.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Josh worked for a year and a half at the National Hockey League, where he was involved in all labor and employment matters, including preparations for collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, contract drafting and reviewing and employment counseling. Josh also interned in the labor relations department of Major League Baseball and at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board. He was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and the Appellate Moot Court Honor Society and served as president of the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society.