State ex rel. Hemphill v. Ohio State Emp. Relations Bd.

**What Happened** A worker named Hemphill filed a complaint claiming their employer committed an unfair labor practice. However, they waited too long to file the complaint with Ohio's State Employment Relations Board (SERB) - submitting it after the required 90-day deadline had passed. Additionally, the union representing workers had already withdrawn their related grievance and stopped pursuing the matter through arbitration. **What the Court Decided** The court sided with SERB and upheld their decision to dismiss Hemphill's complaint. The court ruled that SERB acted properly when they threw out the case for two reasons: it was filed too late (beyond the 90-day time limit), and there wasn't enough evidence to support the claim since the union had already given up on the issue. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case highlights the critical importance of timing when filing workplace complaints. Workers have only 90 days to file unfair labor practice charges with SERB, and missing this deadline means losing the right to pursue the case entirely. The ruling also shows that if a union withdraws support for a grievance, it becomes much harder for individual workers to succeed with related complaints. Workers should act quickly when they believe their rights have been violated and stay informed about their union's actions on their behalf.