Su Humble v. Boeing Company, a Delaware Corporation

Plaintiff-Appellant Su Humble appeals the district court’s dismissal of her Washington state law claims on the grounds that they were preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), and that the six month statute of limitations for filing an action under the LMRA had expired. Because we find that Humble’s state law reasonable accommodation claim is not preempted, we reverse.

I. Background

Su Humble is a Korean woman who was employed as a fabrication bench mechanic at Boeing in February 1999 when she suffered an on-the-job injury to her shoulder. According to Humble’s pleadings, Boeing’s medical department recommended that she be given a light duty position, but her supervisor disregarded this recommendation and returned her to her original position. Her injury was allegedly exacerbated, resulting in a cycle over the course of more than a year of medical leaves followed by reinstatement to her original position, or short-term reassignment to modified work followed by return to her original position. Finally, when Humble returned from one of her multiple medical leaves on May 24, 2000, she was told that there were no light duty positions available to accommodate…