The foundation, which represents Melissa Belgau and six other state employees in Belgau v. Inslee, filed a request for certiorari after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against them in September. The Washington workers are not alone. Public employees in at least 11 states have challenged post-Janus restrictions on exiting unions, but the foundation’s case, Belgau v. Inslee, marks the first to reach the Supreme Court since the 2018 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The court ruled in favor of Illinois state child support specialist Mark Janus, holding that nonunion public employees cannot be compelled to pay fees in lieu of union dues and spurring predictions that union clout would plunge as workers quit the public-sector collectives in droves.