Jane Churchon v. Sutter Valley Hospitals

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) governs relations between employers and Labor Unions. It provides for the creation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to adjudicate disputes between employees and employers. The NLRA contains no express provision providing for the preemption of state law claims. In the present case the Regional Director for the NLRB rejected a retaliation claim between a nurse and employee hospital. The California Third District Court of Appeals held that this rejection triggered preemption under San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon. The question presented is: 1. Whether the Court should overrule Garmon or at least clarify that factual overlap between a civil complaint and an NLRB complaint is insufficient to invoke Garmon preemption.