10-1129 Hughes v. United Air Lines, Inc.

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Labor
RLA; preemption

The Railway Labor Act does not completely preempt retaliatory-discharge claims under state law.
“Graf’s holding that the RLA completely preempts retaliatory-discharge suits under state law is overruled. (Other parts of Graf are unaffected by this conclusion.) Because this conclusion is compelled by decisions of the Supreme Court after Graf, circulation under Circuit Rule 40(e) is unnecessary. This suit must be remanded to state court, because both Hughes and United are citizens of Illinois. United submits that Hughes cannot prevail unless the court considers, and rejects, its contention that the collective bargaining agreement required her discharge after three years on medical leave. If ‘the state-law claim is dependent on the interpretation of a CBA’, Hawaiian Airlines, 512 U.S. at 262, then her claim is preempted. But the state judiciary (subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States) is the right forum for United’s argument on that subject; it would be inappropriate for us to discuss it.”

Vacated and Remanded.

10-1129 Hughes v. United Air Lines, Inc.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Bucklo, J., Easterbrook, J.

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