BRIAN HEJDA VS. BELL CONTAINER CORPORATION
A-3502-14T1
In Puglia v. Elk Pipeline, Inc., 226 N.J. 258 (2016), our
Supreme Court applied principles the United States Supreme Court
clarified in Hawaiian Airlines v. Norris, 512 U.S. 246 114 S.
Ct. 2239, 129 L. Ed. 2d 203 (1994), to conclude that an
employee's state whistleblower claim was not pre-empted by § 301
of the Labor Management and Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C.A.
185(a). This appeal presents the question whether an employee-
union member's disability discrimination claim under the Law
Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49, and
retaliatory discharge claim under the Workers' Compensation Law
(WCL), N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -128.5, are pre-empted by § 301. We
conclude the claims as asserted are not pre-empted because they
do not require interpretation of any provision of the collective
bargaining agreement between the union and employer.
