Kim Reuter v. Bob Skipper

The Sheriff of Multnomah County, Bob Skipper (hereinafter “the County”), appeals a preliminary injunction granted by the district court enjoining the County from firing Kim Reuter during the pendency of her action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Reuter worked for the County as a County Corrections Officer. She was fired because she violated a rule which prohibited cohabitation between a corrections officer and an ex-felon.

The County contends this case involves a labor dispute and the district court was precluded from issuing the preliminary injunction by the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 (“Norris-LaGuardia”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 101-115 (1988). The merits of the injunction are not contested. We have jurisdiction under 29 U.S.C. § 110 . We affirm the district court’s grant of the preliminary injunction.

I

BACKGROUND

Pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the County and the Multno-mah County Corrections Officers Association, the officers’ union, the County promulgated work rules for corrections officers. One work rule prohibited certain relationships between corrections officers and ex-felons who had been imprisoned anytime in the preceding ten years. Reuter admits she…