--- title: "Supreme Court Rejects Union Access to Employer's Property in California" description: "" url: "https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters/august-2021/scotus-rejects-union-acess-employee-property" date: "2026-06-15T08:21:30+00:00" language: "en-US" --- # Supreme Court Rejects Union Access to Employer's Property in California Written on August 09, 2021. A strong ruling for employers' private property rights was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in June in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, No. 20-107 (June 23, 2021). The Court ruled that a California regulation that gives union organizers access to workers on employers' farms violates the property rights of the owners. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the 6-3 majority ruling. He said that giving the organizers access to the private property was the kind of uncompensated "taking" of private property by the government that the U.S. Constitution forbids. A California state regulation had granted union organizers a right to physically enter and occupy the farmers' land for three hours per day, 120 days per year. Justice Roberts wrote: "The regulation appropriate for the enjoyment of third parties the owners' right to exclude." Justice Breyer, in dissent, worried that the Court's ruling would endanger any government intrusion on private property. The majority opinion said, however, that there was room for exceptions for law enforcement and health and safety inspections under the decision. The state law was an outgrowth of the Cesar Chavez farmworker movement in the 1970s, when it was argued that the seasonal and isolated nature of agricultural labor made access to the fields essential so workers could exercise their right to organize a union. The ruling thus reinforces the Court's commitment to private property rights, which some Justices have viewed as under threat from over-reaching government regulations. Editor's Note: There are two significant ramifications of this important ruling on property rights. First, it is likely that this case can be argued to oppose the many rulings of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and other government agencies that require access to employers' properties for any number of reasons, such as the argument that employees should have the right to use the employer's email systems and the like for union organizing purposes. There remains to be seen what the NLRB and other government agencies will do with this important Supreme Court precedent, particularly since the Republican majority on the NLRB is likely to end in late August. A second interesting question is whether and how the Constitutional problem in the California regulation can be overcome. That is, the question is whether either the Labor Board or unions find a way to compensate employers for the time spent on employer property or using employer equipment. This is part of our August 2021 Newsletter. [Click here to download the newsletter PDF](https://wimlaw.com/images/pdfs/newsletters/2021-08-wim-law-newsleter.pdf) - [](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2021%2Fscotus-rejects-union-acess-employee-property.md&text=) - [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2021%2Fscotus-rejects-union-acess-employee-property.md) - [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2021%2Fscotus-rejects-union-acess-employee-property.md) - [](mailto:?subject=Supreme%20Court%20Rejects%20Union%20Access%20to%20Employer%27s%20Property%20in%20California) ## Related Content ## Get Email Updates Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. Sign up below. ## Recent Content [ August 2021 ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=215) [ ![ai, human reach out](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/f1/igor-omilaev-FHgWFzDDAOs-unsplash-f12346e8.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53)### [FCRA Litigation Challenges Employers’ Use of AI Hiring Platforms](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A January 20, 2026, class action filed against Eightfold AI, Inc. in California is sending shockwaves through the employer and AI community… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [ ![danger sign, skull](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/01/mikael-seegen-jX6WXNkvsPs-unsplash-01c1ebef.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53)### [The Dangers of Employers Using AI Research Tools as to Discovery Requests from Plaintiffs](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A second “bombshell” affecting HR pertaining to AI is a federal court ruling in New York, that a defendant’s use of AI in researching and p… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [ ![CHAT GPT](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/64/emiliano-vittoriosi-fvxNerA8uk0-unsplash-64a16be4.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53)### [Two Subsequent Cases Protect Defendant’s Use of AI as Subject to Work-product Protection](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Soon after the deciding of the above-discussed case on February 17, 2026, in U.S. v. Heppner, a criminal case in the District Court for the… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [ ![avoid, wave away](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/6f/priscilla-du-preez-NQTphr4Pr60-unsplash-6fb4df83.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53)### [Is There Anything an Employer Can Do to Avoid Waiving Privileges in Using AI Research Tools?](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) There are no easy answers to the above question, but some general observations will nevertheless be made. First, the New York district cou… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [ ![ai visualization](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/milad-fakurian-5yWtM3M3JKM-unsplash-45306e6d.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53)### [Suggestions on Use of AI](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Perhaps the starting point is to look at the type of AI platforms generally available. At a recent conference about AI use for HR, speaker… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [ ![june 2026 legal immigration webinar promo graphic](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/june-2026-webinar-immigration-453d45bc.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221)### [Worksite Enforcement and TPS and Parole Status Update](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) [Webinars: Employment Law "Hot Topics"](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=221) The webinar covers how to deal with a worksite enforcement action and various types of immigration enforcement activities. The webinar also… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) ### Additional Legal Resources [### Newsletter Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters) [### Books Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/books) [### Alerts Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/alerts) [### Articles Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/articles) [### Audits Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/audits) [### Events Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/events) ## Schema ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://wimlaw.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Publications", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/publications" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Newsletters", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "August 2021", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters/august-2021" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Supreme Court Rejects Union Access to Employer's Property in California", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters/august-2021/scotus-rejects-union-acess-employee-property" } ] } ```