Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s first regulatory review of 2020! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with the latest regulatory actions from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back next month for the next edition.

On their last day in session this term, the Supreme Court justices agreed to hear the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The plaintiffs are challenging the public-sector “agency shop” arrangements that were validated by the Supreme Court decision Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977.

For the past year, the Supreme Court has been mulling the case of Harris v. Quinn, in which the state of Illinois was asserting its authority to collect union dues from non-union members working as home health care workers under a Medicare program. The state’s argument was that, since public sector labor unions negotiate contracts that benefit non-union members in terms of higher wages and better working conditions, it would be acceptable to expect these workers to pay union dues in return.

One of the greatest barriers to education reform, and the symbol of public sector intransigence, is teacher tenure. These statutes make it nearly impossible and incredibly expensive to fire poorly performing teachers. But in a landmark victory for education reform, a California judge ruled that teacher tenure and a slew of other job protection clauses are unconstitutional and should not be enforced by school districts.

The Internal Revenue Service is attempting to change the standards for tax exempt status for 501(c)(4) groups. Rather than sticking to enforcing the will of Congress, the IRS, with the full blessing of the political operation in the White House, wants to ensure they won't have to harass conservative and tea party groups about their tax exempt status applications, because those groups won't even bother to apply. They need to hear from America.

Earlier this year, a ballot initiative was filed in Oregon to place a measure on the 2014 ballot to allow public sector union members to opt out of mandatory deduction of dues from their paychecks.

Covered California, the state's Obamacare health insurance exchange, announced on May 14 that it had awarded $37 million to promote the implementation of the health insurance law.  Unsurprisingly, many of the groups selected to receive grants have a similar political bent -- or vested financial interest in selling health care services.