Pencikowski

MEMORANDUM *

The district court properly found that Paul Pencikowski’s (“Pencikowski”) state law breach of contract and wrongful termination in violation of public policy claims against his employer The Aerospace Corporation (“TAC”) were preempted by section 301 (“ § 301”) of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 141 , et seq. (“LMRA”). Pencikowski was a member of the Aerospace Professional Staff Association (“APSA”), and his employment was exclusively governed by the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between his employer TAC and the APSA. Because resolution of Pencikowski’s state law claims would be “substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of an agreement made between the parties in a labor contract,” those claims are preempted under § 301. Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 220 , 105 S.Ct. 1904 , 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985).

However, the district court erred in finding that § 301 claims are always subject to a six-month statute of limitations. “Congress did not provide a uniform limitations provision for § 301 suits” and the Supreme Court has been loath to devise one judicially. UAW v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp., 383 U.S. 696, 703-04 , 86…