US-CA11 · jury_instructions

11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Civil) 4.17

Employee Claim against Employer and Union (Vaca v. Sipes)

activein force · 2025-12-01 – presentact-effective-date

In this case, [name of plaintiff] makes two claims. The first claim is that

[name of plaintiff]’s employer discharged [name of plaintiff] without just cause in

violation of the collective -bargaining agreement governing the terms and

conditions of [his/her] employment.

The second claim is that [name of plaintiff]’s union breached its duty to

fairly represent [name of plaintiff] as one of its members by failing to investigate

or otherwise process [his/her] grievance against [his/her] employer under the

collective-bargaining agreement’s grievance procedure.

The law prohibits an employer from discharging an employee governed by a

collective-bargaining agreement unless there is just cause to dismiss the employee.

“Just cause” means a real cause or basis for dismissal – not an arbitrary

whim. “Just cause” is something that a reasonable employer, acting in good faith in

similar circumstances, would regard as a good reason for dismissing an employee.

For the first claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove each of the following facts

by a preponderance of the evidence:

First: [Name of employer] discharged [name of plaintiff] from

employment; and

Second: [Name of employer] discharged [name of plaintiff] without

just cause.

If you find for [name of plaintiff] on the first claim, you must consider the

second claim: that [name of union] breached its duty of fair representation – that

[name of union] did not fairly represent [name of plaintiff] as one of its members.

To succeed on this second claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove each of the

following facts by a preponderance of the evidence:

First: [Name of employer] discharged [name of plaintiff] from

employment, and that the discharge was without just cause;

Second: [Name of plaintiff] was a member of a collective- bargaining

unit represented by [name of union];

Third: [Name of plaintiff] filed a grievance with [name of union];

Fourth: [Name of union] breached its duty of fair representation by

handling the grievance proceedings arbitrarily,

discriminatorily, or in bad faith; and

Fifth: [Name of union]’s breach materially affected the outcome of

[name of plaintiff]’s grievance hearing.

A union has a legal duty to fairly represent the interests of its members in

protecting their rights under a collective- bargaining agreement. But an employee

does not have an absolute right to require the union to pursue a grievance against

an employer. The test is basic fairness. As long as the union acts in good faith, the

law allows it to exercise broad discretion to determine whether it should pursue the

employee’s grievance against an employer under a collective -bargaining

agreement.

For example, the union may weigh the cost of pursuing a grievance against

the likelihood of success. So even if an employee’s grievance has merit, mere

negligence or the union’s exercise of poor judgment does not establish a breach of

its duty of fair representation.

But when a union acts arbitrarily or carelessly, or dishonestly and in bad

faith, by refusing to pursue a union member’s meritorious grievance, it violates its

duty to represent fairly the member who lodged the grievance.

[In the verdict form that I will explain in a moment, you will be asked to

answer questions about these factual issues.]

If you find for [name of plaintiff] on [his/her] first claim or on both claims,

you must consider [his/her] damages. The damage award should be an amount that

justly compensates [him/her] for the damages [he/she] incurred.

The measure of these damages, if any, is the amount [name of plaintiff]

would have earned from [his/her] employment with [name of employer] if [name

of employer] had not discharged [him/her]. But you must reduce this amount by

any earnings [name of plaintiff] received, or reasonably could have received, from

other employment. [Name of plaintiff] has a duty to mitigate or minimize the

damages. [Name of defendant] is not responsible for lost earnings to the extent that

[name of plaintiff] could have avoided those lost earnings by using reasonable care

in seeking other employment.

After you have determined an amount for damages, if you have found for

[name of plaintiff] and against both the employer and the union, you must then

divide the damages between the employer and the union. The employer is only

responsible for lost wages caused by discharging [name of plaintiff] in breach of

the collective-bargaining agreement. But any increase in lost wages that the union

caused by failing to pursue [name of plaintiff]’s grievance should be charged to the

union – not to the employer.

So if you decide that [name of plaintiff] would have been reimbursed for lost

wages or reinstated to [his/her] job if the union had fairly represented [him/her],

then you must divide those lost wages between the employer and the union. In that

case, you should allot damages to the union to the extent its breach of duty to fairly

represent [name of plaintiff] increased the amount of wages [he/she] lost.

SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES TO THE JURY

Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence:

1. That [name of defendant] discharged [name of plaintiff] from

employment?