Section 7 Statute of Limitations

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

While § 301, 29 U.S.C. § 185, contains no statute of limitations, the Supreme Court has held that a suit on a hybrid claim must be filed within six months of the violation. DelCostello v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 169 (1983); Scott v. United Auto.,242 F.3d 837, 839 (8^th Cir. 2001); Barlow v. Am. Nat’l Can Co., 173 F.3d 640, 642 (8^th Cir. 1999). See also West v. Conrail, 481 U.S. 35, 37–38 (1987). The Supreme Court borrowed the time limitation in § 10(b) of the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. § 160(b), for filing an unfair labor practice charge. The Supreme Court reasoned that the hybrid claim was most analogous to an unfair labor practice because a union’s breach of its representational duties also constitutes such a violation. The relatively short limitations period encourages prompt adjudication of hybrid claims consistent with the general policy favoring quick resolution of workplace disputes...