Section 2 Collective Bargaining Agreement

• Library: Emp-Emp Law 2000

Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements are expressly outside the scope of this chapter, but because the agreements generally provide that termination of employment may only be for “just cause” or “good cause,” they should be addressed as a possible source of protection against unjust termination.

Some courts in other jurisdictions have held that employees covered by collective bargaining agreements may also bring civil tort actions for wrongful discharge so that they can recover punitive damages. Midgett v. Sackett-Chicago, Inc., 454 N.E.2d 1092 (Ill. App. 1983). But in Missouri, a prospective plaintiff/employee covered by a union agreement would have to first exhaust any remedies provided under the agreement’s grievance procedure. McKiness v. Western Union Tel. Co., 667 S.W.2d 738, 741 (Mo. App. E.D. 1984). This exhaustion requirement does not extend to claims based exclusively on a violation of independent rights derived from a source other...