Labor & Employment Law

State statutes forbidding injunction of peaceful labor picketing are unconstitutional (2-1)

In Ralphs Grocery v. UFCW (California Ct App 01/27/2011)The union set up an informational picket line in front of the entrance to a non-union store in a commercial shopping center. The store sued to enjoin this activity.

The trial court denied an injunction, relying on two state statutes (the Moscone Act and Labor Code Section 1138.1) which prohibit or limit such injunctions. The California Court of Appeal reversed.

The court applied a strict scrutiny analysis because the statutes are content based (they apply to speech related to labor disputes but not to speech on other topics), and "select which views the state is willing to have discussed or debated." The court found the statutes to be in violation of the state constitution because they "selectively create a free speech right applicable only to the few, while excluding all others, in the absence of a compelling state interest."

The DISSENT argued that the store lacked standing to raise a constitutional free speech claim because it does not contend that its own free speech is burdened.

[Ed. Note: Ralphs Grocery v. UFCW (different case with similar facts) is pending before the California Supreme Court, and raises the issue of whether the Moscone Act violates the 1st amendment of the US constitution.]

Full post as published by Ross' Employment Law Blog on January 29, 2011 (boomark / email).