Smith v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 11

**Smith v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: Mixed Victory for Union Member** This case involved a dispute between a union member named Smith and his local electrical workers' union. Smith claimed the union discriminated against him because of his disability and age, wrongfully terminated him, broke their contract with him, and subjected him to harassment that caused severe emotional distress. The appeals court delivered a mixed decision. On the positive side for Smith, the court reversed earlier rulings that had dismissed his disability discrimination and wrongful termination claims, allowing these cases to move forward to trial. The court found that federal labor law doesn't prevent workers from filing these types of discrimination lawsuits against their own unions. However, the court upheld dismissals of Smith's age discrimination and contract breach claims, finding they lacked sufficient merit. The court also ruled that Smith couldn't sue the union's business manager personally – only the union itself could be held responsible. **What this means for workers:** Union members can still file disability discrimination lawsuits against their own unions, even though unions have broad protections under federal labor law. However, age discrimination claims against unions face higher hurdles, and workers typically cannot sue individual union officials personally for workplace violations.