THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of 158 U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that discuss, analyze and apply provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act. The selection of decisions spans from 2004 to the date of publication.
Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185, allows litigants to bring "[s]uits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization" in federal district court. Usually, an employee who wants to sue his employer for a violation of a collective bargaining agreement must first exhaust the contractual remedies in that agreement. Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650, 652-53 (1965). "The reasoning behind this rule is simple. Federal labor law policy favors adjustment by the parties of disputes arising under a collective bargaining agreement." Amburgey v. Consolidation Coal Co., 923 F.2d 27, 29 (4th Cir. 1991). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, (4th Cir. 2016).
However, in a so-called hybrid § 301 action, an employee may forego exhaustion by showing "both 1) that the union breached its duty of fair representation and 2) that his employer violated the collective bargaining agreement." Thompson v. Aluminum Co. of Am., 276 F.3d 651, 656 (4th Cir. 2002). [Footnote omitted.] A union breaches its duty of fair representation "if its actions are either 'arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.'" Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l v. O'Neill, 499 U.S. 65, 67 (1991) (quoting Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190 (1967)). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
The hybrid § 301 action exists to avoid the "unacceptable injustice" that would occur if an employee were required to exhaust his contractual remedies even though "the union representing the employee in the grievance/arbitration procedure act[ed] in such a discriminatory, dishonest, arbitrary, or perfunctory fashion as to breach its duty of fair representation." DelCostello v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 164 (1983). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly framed the hybrid § 301 action as a solution to that specific injustice: an employee unable to exhaust contractual remedies because of his union's breach of the duty of fair representation. Thus, in Vaca v. Sipes, the Court held that an "employee may seek judicial enforcement of his contractual rights" where "the union has sole power under the contract to invoke the higher stages of the grievance procedure, and if . . . the employee-plaintiff has been prevented from exhausting his contractual remedies by the union's wrongful refusal to process the grievance." 386 U.S. at 185. Similarly, in Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., the Court explained that because the contractual remedies for an employer's mistreatment of an individual employee are "at least in their final stages controlled by union and employer," the hybrid § 301 action provides an alternative remedy in cases where the union "refuse[s] to utilize [the contractual remedies] or, if it does [utilize them], assertedly [does] so discriminatorily or in bad faith." 424 U.S. 554, 564 (1976). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
[A] hybrid § 301 claim requires an allegation that the union's breach of its duty of fair representation played some role in the employee's failure to exhaust his contractual remedies. This understanding of the hybrid § 301 claim best accords with the Supreme Court's articulation of the claim's purpose. [O]therwise, [we] would transform the hybrid § 301 suit from a safeguard for wronged employees whose unions fail to assert the employees' rights, to a tool to bypass the normal exhaustion rule for claims against an employer, any time employees also have some unrelated claim against their union. Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185, allows litigants to bring "[s]uits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization" in federal district court. Usually, an employee who wants to sue his employer for a violation of a collective bargaining agreement must first exhaust the contractual remedies in that agreement. Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650, 652-53 (1965). "The reasoning behind this rule is simple. Federal labor law policy favors adjustment by the parties of disputes arising under a collective bargaining agreement." Amburgey v. Consolidation Coal Co., 923 F.2d 27, 29 (4th Cir. 1991). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, (4th Cir. 2016).
However, in a so-called hybrid § 301 action, an employee may forego exhaustion by showing "both 1) that the union breached its duty of fair representation and 2) that his employer violated the collective bargaining agreement." Thompson v. Aluminum Co. of Am., 276 F.3d 651, 656 (4th Cir. 2002). [Footnote omitted.] A union breaches its duty of fair representation "if its actions are either 'arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.'" Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l v. O'Neill, 499 U.S. 65, 67 (1991) (quoting Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190 (1967)). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
The hybrid § 301 action exists to avoid the "unacceptable injustice" that would occur if an employee were required to exhaust his contractual remedies even though "the union representing the employee in the grievance/arbitration procedure act[ed] in such a discriminatory, dishonest, arbitrary, or perfunctory fashion as to breach its duty of fair representation." DelCostello v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 164 (1983). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly framed the hybrid § 301 action as a solution to that specific injustice: an employee unable to exhaust contractual remedies because of his union's breach of the duty of fair representation. Thus, in Vaca v. Sipes, the Court held that an "employee may seek judicial enforcement of his contractual rights" where "the union has sole power under the contract to invoke the higher stages of the grievance procedure, and if . . . the employee-plaintiff has been prevented from exhausting his contractual remedies by the union's wrongful refusal to process the grievance." 386 U.S. at 185. Similarly, in Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., the Court explained that because the contractual remedies for an employer's mistreatment of an individual employee are "at least in their final stages controlled by union and employer," the hybrid § 301 action provides an alternative remedy in cases where the union "refuse[s] to utilize [the contractual remedies] or, if it does [utilize them], assertedly [does] so discriminatorily or in bad faith." 424 U.S. 554, 564 (1976). Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
[A] hybrid § 301 claim requires an allegation that the union's breach of its duty of fair representation played some role in the employee's failure to exhaust his contractual remedies. This understanding of the hybrid § 301 claim best accords with the Supreme Court's articulation of the claim's purpose. [O]therwise, [we] would transform the hybrid § 301 suit from a safeguard for wronged employees whose unions fail to assert the employees' rights, to a tool to bypass the normal exhaustion rule for claims against an employer, any time employees also have some unrelated claim against their union. Groves v. Communication Workers of America, ibid.
