Belknap, Inc. v. Hale

463 U.S. 491 (1983)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Belknap, Inc. v. Hale

United States Supreme Court
463 U.S. 491 (1983)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

When negotiations over a new collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) with Belknap, Inc. (defendant) reached an impasse, about 400 unionized workers struck. The same day, Belknap unilaterally granted a wage increase for those who stayed on the job. Belknap advertised for workers to “permanently replace” strikers, and each replacement signed a statement acknowledging employment as a “permanent replacement.” After the union filed unfair-labor-practice charges based on the unilateral wage increase, Belknap filed its own charges against the union and distributed a letter reassuring replacements they would remain permanent. When the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against Belknap, it again assured replacements their employment would remain unchanged. But the union and Belknap settled, agreeing to dismiss the charges and reinstate strikers, and Belknap laid off the replacements. Twelve laid-off replacements including Hale (plaintiffs) sued Belknap in Kentucky state court for misrepresentation and breach of contract. The court granted Belknap summary judgment, reasoning that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempted the state-law claims. The appellate court reversed, and the Supreme Court granted review.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (White, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Labor Law

Key Terms