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Carpenters Local Union No. 329 v. State ex rel Deptartment of Labor9/25/2000
After Carpenters Local Union No. 329 (Local) stopped paying his $620 monthly salary for service as President of Local, Charles Rhinehart filed a claim for unpaid wages with the Oklahoma Department of Labor (Department) pursuant to 40 O.S.Supp.1993 § 165.7. After a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for Department, the ALJ issued an order requiring Local to pay Rhinehart $7,440. In so concluding, the ALJ reasoned that Local violated Section 31C of the Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (International) which provides, in pertinent part:
The compensation of an officer, Business Representative or assistant Business Representative in effect at the time of nomination or appointment shall not be reduced during the term for which elected or appointed without his or her consent; provided, however, and notwithstanding the provisions of Section 31C or prior action of a Local Union or Council designating the term of an appointee, the term for which an officer or Representative is elected or appointed may be reduced or terminated, or the compensation therefore (sic) reduced, for valid economic reasons subject to the approval of the General President, whose decision may be appealed to the General Executive Board under Section 53G.
As authorized by 40 O.S.Supp.1993 § 165.7(E), Local filed an appeal under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), 75 O.S.1991 § 250 et seq., in the District Court for Oklahoma County. Following receipt of the record from Department and completion of briefing by all parties, the district court affirmed the ALJ's order. Local then filed this appeal.
Like the district court, our review is limited. We may set aside the agency's order only if we determine that one or more of the grounds listed in § 322 of the APA are shown by the record, and we may not disturb the agency's decision unless our review of the record leads us to a firm conviction that the agency is mistaken. Anderson v. State ex rel. Crawford, 1998 OK CIV APP 89, 964 P.2d 937. In four propositions, Local argues the record demonstrates grounds for reversal: (1) Rhinehart waived any procedural or substantive rights he had under the International's Constitution by execution of documents received in evidence by the ALJ; (2) Rhinehart was an "at-will" employee whose employment could be terminated by Local at any time for any reason; (3) Department lacked jurisdiction over Rhinehart's claim under Oklahoma law because the subject matter has been preempted by federal law; and (4) Rhinehart was fully compensated by alternate employment arrangements, and the ALJ's order results in his unjust enrichment. The first, second, and fourth propositions present questions concerning the existence of "reliable, material, probative and substantial competent evidence" in this record to support the ALJ's decision as required by § 322(1)(b) of the APA, and we may conveniently consider them together. The third proposition presents pure questions of law and is addressed first.
PREEMPTION
According to Local, United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO v. Local 334, United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, 452 U.S. 615, 101 S.Ct. 2546, 69 L.Ed.2d 280 (1981), holds that "any action alleging violation or interpretation of an international union's constitution falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the federal courts under the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §185(a)." (Emphasis added; quotation from Appellants' Brief in Chief). This is a misstatement of the h
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