# Harris v. Quinn *Subject record: the Minnesota public-employee fair share fee provisions carried in this entry's evidence pack.* This entry is titled *Harris v. Quinn*. The evidence pack assembled for it contains no court document for that case: no docket, opinion, parties, holding or date. It also contains no source connecting the case to Minnesota law, so this article does not describe the litigation. The pack carries six Revisor of Statutes pages. They trace Minnesota's public-employee fair share fee from the Public Employment Labor Relations Act of 1971 to the current text of Minnesota Statutes section 179A.06.[^1][^2] The 1971 act gave public employees the right to join labor organizations and "the right not to form and join such organizations".[^1] In 1973 the [[Minnesota Legislature]] let an exclusive representative require nonmembers to pay a fair share fee.[^3] In 1976 it capped that fee at 85 percent of regular membership dues.[^4] The 1984 recodification carried the fee into chapter 179A.[^5] The 2026 edition of the statutes retains it.[^2] The current statute places both rules in one section. Subdivision 2 says public employees "have the right not to form and join such organizations". Subdivision 3 says an exclusive representative "may require employees who are not members of the exclusive representative to contribute a fair share fee for services rendered" by it.[^2] The pack does not identify the party of the legislators or governors who enacted, amended or kept these instruments. It carries no recorded vote. The record therefore does not establish a partisan pattern in either direction.[^1][^3][^4][^5] ## Who The 1971 act defined an "exclusive representative" as an employee organization "designated by more than 50 percent of the appropriate unit" and certified under the act.[^1] Chapter 635 of 1973 rewrote that definition in terms of a majority of the votes cast in the unit.[^3] The 1984 recodification defined the exclusive representative as an organization certified under section 179A.12 "to meet and negotiate with the employer on behalf of all employees in the appropriate unit".[^5] The 1971 act created a Minnesota public employment relations board.[^1] Chapter 635 of 1973 amended the appointment clause so that the board's five members are appointed by the [[governor]] rather than the chief justice of the supreme court.[^3] Under the 1984 act, the [[Public Employment Relations Board (Minnesota)]] has five members appointed by the governor. Two represent public employees, two represent public employers and one represents the public at large.[^5] In 1984 the director of the [[Bureau of Mediation Services]] decided fee challenges, and the board heard on the record the director's determinations "relating to a fair share fee challenge".[^5] The current statute assigns that role to the commissioner.[^6][^2] ## What Under current law the fee "must be equal to the regular membership dues of the exclusive representative, less the cost of benefits financed through the dues and available only to members of the exclusive representative". It may not exceed 85 percent of those dues.[^2] The 1984 act defined a "fair share fee challenge" as "any proceeding or action instituted by a public employee, a group of public employees, or any other person, to determine their rights and obligations with respect to the circumstances or the amount of a fair share fee".[^5] ## When - **1971.** Chapter 33 (S.F. No. 4) of the 1971 Extra Session enacted the Public Employment Labor Relations Act of 1971.[^1] Its employee-rights section, section 179.65, provided the right to form and join or not join organizations. It also provided dues check off for the organization of the employee's selection.[^1] - **1973.** Chapter 635 (H.F. No. 295) amended section 179.65, subdivision 2. Nonmembers "may be required by said representative to contribute a fair share fee for services rendered", and the employer "shall be obligated to check off said fee from the earnings of the employee". The same amendment exempted employees in section 179.63, subdivision 10, clause (c), from contributing until January 1, 1975.[^3] The 1971 act's clause (c) is the provision under which "a teacher shall be deemed to be a professional employee".[^1] - **1976.** Chapter 102 (H.F. No. 2244), approved March 31, 1976, amended section 179.65, subdivision 2. It added that "in no event shall the fee exceed 85 percent of the regular membership dues".[^4] - **1984.** Chapter 462 (S.F. No. 1986) proposed chapter 179A as new law. It repealed Minnesota Statutes 1982, sections 179.61 to 179.76, as amended. The fee was re-enacted as section 179A.06, subdivision 3.[^5] - **2014–2024.** The Revisor's history table for section 179A.06 lists these amendments:[^2] - subdivision 7, added in 2014 (2014 c 211 s 8); - subdivision 6, amended in 2023 (2023 c 53 art 11 s 13) and 2024 (2024 c 127 art 8 s 6); - subdivisions 1 to 3, amended in 2024 (2024 c 110 art 5 s 17–19). - **2022.** Subdivision 1 of section 179A.04, which lists fair share fee challenges among the petitions the commissioner must accept, was amended by 2022 c 55 art 1 s 110.[^6] ## Why The 1971 act declared it "the public policy of this state" to promote "orderly and constructive relationships between all public employers and their employees". This was subject to the "paramount right of the citizens" to protect health, education, safety and welfare.[^1] The act stated that "Unresolved disputes between the public employer and its employees are injurious to the public as well as to the parties". Among its means, it listed granting public employees "certain rights to organize and choose freely their representatives".[^1] Two years later the Legislature added the nonmember fee, collected through employer check off.[^3] The 1984 act stated that its intent was to "eliminate obsolete and redundant language, arrange the provisions governing public sector labor relations in a more logical order, and make the law easier to read and understand".[^5] The same act re-enacted the fee and the 85 percent cap. It also gave the director jurisdiction over fee challenges "upon the receipt of a filing fee".[^5] ## How The exclusive representative must give advance written notice of the fee amount to the employer and to the unit employees who will be assessed it. The employer must give the representative a list of all unit employees.[^2] A challenge "must be filed in writing with the commissioner, the public employer, and the exclusive representative within 30 days after receipt of the written notice". The challenge must specify the portions contested and the reasons.[^2] The "burden of proof relating to the amount of the fair share fee is on the exclusive representative".[^2] Section 179A.04 directs the commissioner to "hear and decide all issues in a fair share fee challenge".[^6] The 1984 text gave the same functions to the director and required notice to the director as well.[^5] The employer must "deduct the fee from the earnings of the employee and transmit the fee to the exclusive representative 30 days after the written notice was provided". If a challenge is filed, the deductions are held in escrow pending the commissioner's decision.[^2] Subdivision 6 governs payroll deductions for the exclusive representative and its political fund. The employer must rely on the representative's certification that a signed authorization exists. The representative "is not required to provide the public employer a copy of the authorization unless a dispute arises about the authorization's existence or terms".[^2] On changes or cancellations, the employer "must rely on information from the exclusive representative receiving remittance of the deduction". A deduction authorization is "independent from the public employee's membership status in the organization to which payment is remitted".[^2] Disputes under subdivision 6 go to an unfair labor practice proceeding under section 179A.13.[^2] ## How much - **1973.** The 1973 amendment limited the required contribution to a pro rata share of the "specific expenses incurred for services rendered by the representative". Those expenses were tied to negotiations and the administration of grievance procedures.[^3] - **1976 onward.** From 1976 the ceiling has been 85 percent of regular membership dues.[^4][^5] The 2026 statute retains that ceiling.[^2] - **Commissioner's fees.** Section 179A.04 authorizes the commissioner to collect fees established by rule "in conjunction with fair share fee challenges".[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Legislature, *Laws of Minnesota 1971, Extra Session, Chapter 33 (S.F. No. 4)* (1971 Extra Session) — enacts the Public Employment Labor Relations Act of 1971: public-policy statement, definitions, employee rights, dues check off, and creation of the public employment relations board. https://revisor.mn.gov/laws/1971/1/33 [^2]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes 2026, section 179A.06, Employee Rights and Obligations* (2026) — current text of subdivisions 2, 3 and 6, the recent-history table and the history line. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/179A.06 [^3]: Minnesota Legislature, *Laws of Minnesota 1973, Chapter 635 (H.F. No. 295)* (1973) — amends sections 179.63, 179.65 and 179.72, adding the nonmember fair share fee, the 1975 exemption and governor appointment of the board. https://revisor.mn.gov/laws/1973/0/635 [^4]: Minnesota Legislature, *Laws of Minnesota 1976, Chapter 102 (H.F. No. 2244)* (approved March 31, 1976) — amends section 179.65, subdivision 2, capping the fee at 85 percent of regular membership dues. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/1976/0/Session+Law/Chapter/102 [^5]: Minnesota Legislature, *Laws of Minnesota 1984, Chapter 462 (S.F. No. 1986)* (1984 Regular Session) — the 1984 Public Employment Labor Relations Recodification Act: stated intent, chapter 179A definitions, director and board duties, and the section 179A.06 fair share fee text; repeals sections 179.61 to 179.76. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/1984/0/462/ [^6]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes 2026, section 179A.04, Commissioner's Power, Authority, and Duties* (2026) — commissioner's duty to accept and decide fair share fee challenges, related fees, and the history line. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/179A.04