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Maryland Mulls High Court Decision on Home-Care Workers

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's governor says the state will review its collective bargaining arrangement for home-care workers after a Supreme Court ruling on those workers and union costs.

The court ruled 5-4 on Monday that thousands of home health care workers in Illinois cannot be required to pay fees that help cover a union's costs of collective bargaining.

Maryland is one of at least nine other states that have allowed home care workers to join unions.

The Washington Post reports that the issue was whether the workers could be required to pay union dues if they don't join the union. Maryland follows this practice.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement Monday that Maryland's system has worked well for workers, patients and taxpayers, but said officials will see if changes are needed.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.