Mills v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union 66

# Mills v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union 66 **What Happened** Mills filed a lawsuit against his union, Local Union 66, claiming the union breached a contract with him. Mills waited about eleven months after he discovered the problem before taking legal action in October 2002. The union argued the case should be dismissed because Mills filed too late. **What the Court Decided** The court sided with the union and dismissed the case. The judge found that Mills knew about the alleged contract violations by November 2001 but didn't file his lawsuit until October 2002. This exceeded the six-month deadline required by law for this type of claim, meaning the case was legally dead on arrival. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that workers must act quickly when they believe a union has violated their contract. You generally have only six months from when you discover a problem to file a lawsuit. Waiting too long—even if you're still gathering information—can result in losing your legal claim entirely, regardless of whether the union actually wronged you.