Labor & Economy Tracker
Right-to-Work Laws by State (2026)
Can a worker be required to join or pay a union to keep a job? It depends entirely on the state. Below is a clear, sourced guide to right-to-work laws in all 50 states β which states prohibit mandatory union membership and fees, and which permit them.
26 states have right-to-work laws; 24 do not.
In a right-to-work state no worker can be required to join a union or pay union fees to keep a job. 10 of the 26 write the protection into the state constitution rather than statute, which makes it far harder to repeal.
Source: National Right to Work Foundation, as of August 2026
Updated
This dataset is one of five measures in The Liberty Index, our 0β100 ranking of all 50 states on work and wage and two other domains β with the full methodology and exclusions published.
The two categories
Status is drawn from the National Right to Work Foundation, the standard references for right-to-work law.
- Right-to-Work. No worker can be required to join or pay a union as a condition of employment. Protected by state statute or, in several states, the state constitution.
- No Right-to-Work Law. Union-security agreements are permitted β a union contract may require covered employees to join or pay fees to the union.
The 50-state table
| State | Status | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1953; also enshrined in the state constitution in 2016. |
| Alaska | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Arizona | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 1946. |
| Arkansas | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution (Amendment 34) since 1944. |
| California | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Colorado | No Right-to-Work Law | Not right-to-work; its unique Labor Peace Act allows union-security only after a supermajority vote. |
| Connecticut | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Delaware | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Florida | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 1944. |
| Georgia | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947. |
| Hawaii | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Idaho | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1985 (upheld by a 1986 referendum). |
| Illinois | No Right-to-Work Law | Not right-to-work; a 2022 constitutional amendment bars any future right-to-work law. |
| Indiana | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 2012. |
| Iowa | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947. |
| Kansas | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 1958. |
| Kentucky | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 2017. |
| Louisiana | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1976. |
| Maine | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Maryland | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Massachusetts | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Michigan | No Right-to-Work Law | No longer right-to-work; repealed its 2012 law effective early 2024 β the first state in decades to do so. |
| Minnesota | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Mississippi | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution (plus statute) since 1960. |
| Missouri | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; a 2017 RTW law was overturned by voters in a 2018 referendum. |
| Montana | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Nebraska | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 1946. |
| Nevada | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1951. |
| New Hampshire | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; RTW bills have been introduced repeatedly but never enacted. |
| New Jersey | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| New Mexico | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| New York | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| North Carolina | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947. |
| North Dakota | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute (initiated measure) since 1947. |
| Ohio | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; a 1958 RTW ballot measure was rejected by voters. |
| Oklahoma | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 2001 (State Question 695). |
| Oregon | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Pennsylvania | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Rhode Island | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| South Carolina | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1954. |
| South Dakota | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work protected in the state constitution since 1946. |
| Tennessee | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947; added to the state constitution in 2022. |
| Texas | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947 (recodified 1993). |
| Utah | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1955. |
| Vermont | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| Virginia | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1947; voters rejected adding it to the constitution in 2016. |
| Washington | No Right-to-Work Law | Not a right-to-work state; union-security agreements are permitted. |
| West Virginia | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 2016 (upheld by the state supreme court in 2020). |
| Wisconsin | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 2015. |
| Wyoming | Right-to-Work | Right-to-work by statute since 1963. |
No states in this category.
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26 states have right-to-work laws; 24 do not. β The Liberty Tribune, 2026 For a reference list:
"Right-to-Work Laws by State (2026): A 50-State Guide," The Liberty Tribune, https://thelibertytribune.com/trackers/right-to-work-by-state/ Methodology & sources
Right-to-work status follows the National Right to Work Foundation (as of August 2026), cross-checked between the two. A right-to-work law bars union-security agreements β so no worker can be required to join or pay a union as a condition of employment. In several states the protection is written into the state constitution, which is harder to repeal than a statute.
Two recent changes are worth noting. Michigan repealed its 2012 right-to-work law effective early 2024 β the first state in decades to do so β dropping the national count to 26. Missouri passed a right-to-work statute in 2017, but voters overturned it by referendum in 2018 before it took effect, so Missouri remains a non-right-to-work state. Colorado is an edge case: not right-to-work, but its Labor Peace Act imposes an extra vote before union-security clauses can take effect.
Source: National Right to Work Foundation. Compiled by The Liberty Tribune. Last verified October 23, 2026. Right-to-work is a state-law concept; the District of Columbia is not classified here. Laws change β verify a state's current status with an official source before relying on it.