§ 2.4.5.1 PREEMPTION.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 2.4.5.1 Preemption. In 1994, the Supreme Court substantially narrowed RLA preemption.¹⁴ In Norris, the Supreme Court held that a state law claim is preempted by the RLA only when it "involve[s] duties and rights created or defined by [a] CBA" and is therefore "dependent on the interpretation of a CBA."¹⁵ But "a state-law cause of action is not preempted by the RLA if it involves rights and obligations that exist independent of the CBA."¹⁶ "The plaintiff's claim is the touchstone for this analysis; the need to interpret the CBA must inhere in the nature of the plaintiff's claim."¹⁷ In the Ninth Circuit, "claims for employer negligence are not preempted by the RLA when the right involve is independent of a...