GRANT T. NORRIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC., Defendant-Appellee and GRANT T. NORRIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PAUL J. FINAZZO, HOWARD E. OGDEN, HATSUO HONMA, and JOHN DOES 1-50, Defendants-Appellees, 74 Haw. 235

Summary

Plaintiff challenged the trial court's dismissal of his actions for retaliatory discharge for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On review, the court found that the Railway Labor Act (RLA), 45 U.S.C.S. §§ 151-188, did not preempt plaintiff's claims for retaliatory discharge because they were not dependent on an interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Therefore, it did not qualify as a minor dispute under the RLA. The court held the claims of retaliatory discharge were a state common law tort that the legislature had intended to be extended to union workers when a CBA provided inferior rights or remedies. The court found a wide disparity between the remedies available under arbitration in the CBA and remedies under state tort law. It held that plaintiff had stated a valid state tort law claim and application of that law would not interfere with the scheme of the RLA.