Kobold v. Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

The three cases in this consolidated ap peal — Kobold v. Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Barr v. Ross Island Sand & Gravel Co., and Allen v. Northwest Permanente — involve different parties and facts, but are similar in important ways. All three involve employees represented by labor unions who seek remedies under state law against their employers. In all three, there is a collectiVe bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between the union and the employer setting out a grievance and arbitration procedure to govern disputes arising under the agreement. And in all three, a grievance was filed but did not provide full relief, prompting the employee to turn to the courts. All the employees initially filed their cases in state court, but the cases were removed to federal court on the basis of preemption under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185 (a). In all the cases, the district court denied a motion to remand and held the state law claims preempted. We consider the § 301 preemption questions on appeal.

As this court has observed more than once, although § 301 preemption questions arise fairly frequently, “[f]amiliarity ... has not bred…