Case Name: Manuel BAILEY v. AMERICAN SUGAR REFINERY, a/k/a Amstar Corporation
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1977-02-15
Citations: 342 So. 2d 1268
Docket Number: No. 7846
Parties: Manuel BAILEY v. AMERICAN SUGAR REFINERY, a/k/a Amstar Corporation.
Judges: Before BOUTALL, LEMMON and STOULIG, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 342
Pages: 1268–1272

Head Matter:
Manuel BAILEY v. AMERICAN SUGAR REFINERY, a/k/a Amstar Corporation.
No. 7846.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
Feb. 15, 1977.
Rehearing Denied March 15, 1977.
Writ Not Considered May 5, 1977.
Gertler & Gertler, M. H. Gertler, Richard H. Levenstein, New Orleans, for Manuel Bailey.
Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy, G. Phillip Shuler, III, New Orleans, for American Sugar Refinery, a/k/a Amstar Corp.
Before BOUTALL, LEMMON and STOULIG, JJ.

Opinion:
BOUTALL, Judge.
This is an appeal from a judgment of the trial court that maintained the defendant's exception of prematurity and dismissed plaintiff's suit.
On June 17, 1975, plaintiff-appellant Manuel Bailey filed a "Petition for Recovery of Wages" seeking his vacation pay from his former employer, American Sugar Refinery, plus penalties and attorney's fees for defendant's arbitrary refusal to pay. Defendant filed exceptions of prescription, prematurity and failure to join an indispensable party. Plaintiff then amended his petition, pleading the facts of accrual of his vacation pay and alleging that he was no longer an employee and unable to use the grievance procedure provided in the collective bargaining agreement. After trial of the exceptions, judgment was rendered for the defendant, maintaining the exception of prematurity.
The vacation pay sought is provided in the terms of an agreement executed between Amstar Corporation and Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workers of North America, Local Union No. P-1101 (hereinafter referred to as the "Union"). Article X of the Collective Bargaining Agreement provides that employees are entitled to vacation benefits provided that they worked a requisite number of hours prior to February 1st of the year the vacation benefits are requested.
The plaintiff resigned his position with the defendant because of physical disability on May 13, 1974. On or about February 1, 1975, plaintiff applied for his earned vacation pay but was denied his request. The plaintiff then filed this suit to recover the vacation pay, penalty wages and attorney's fees, relying on authority of LSA-R.S. 23:631-640, specifically R.S. 23-631, 632, and 640. Those three statutes provide that an employer has a duty to pay a discharged or resigned employee within twenty-four hours of his discharge or resignation and that the failure to pay the employee's wages due on request would subject an employer to penalties and attorney's fees if the refusal or failure to pay is found to be arbitrary and capricious and without probable cause. R.S. 23:631, 632. For purposes of the statute, vacation benefits are to be treated as wages. R.S. 23:640.
Defendant's exception of prematurity is based upon Article III of the Collective Bargaining Agreement which establishes the grievance procedures to be followed by all employees with grievances. Article 111(2) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in effect at the time when the request for vacation pay was denied, states:
"All grievances and complaints respecting the interpretation, application or performance of this agreement shall be negotiated as follows:
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The collective bargaining agreement referred to herein provides the following method of resolving disputes:
"Article III
"(1) When differences or complaints arise between Management and the Local, or any employee or employees, there shall be no suspension of work on account of such disputes. Grievances must be filed within a period of thirty (30) days following the occurrence of the grievance, except where by mutual agreement, due to the importance of the grievance, the time limit is extended.
"(2) All grievances and complaints respecting the interpretation, application or performance of this agreement shall be negotiated as follows:
"(a) First, between the aggrieved employee's Shop Steward and the Foreman of the department involved, efforts will be made to settle the grievance not later than two (2) working days after it has been presented to the Foreman.
"(b) If the grievance is not settled under the procedure provided in (a) above, it shall be immediately (and in no case later than forty-eight (48) hours after its disposition under (a) above, submitted to the Personnel Manager or his designee, after having first been reduced to writing and signed by the Shop Steward, and shall identify the grievant(s) involved. Within one (1) week after the grievance is so submitted to him the Personnel Manager or his designee shall confer with the Local Grievance Committee, and shall deliver to the chairman of such committee the written decision with respect to the grievance within two (2) days following such meeting.
"(c) If the grievance is not settled, then within two (2) weeks after the written answer of the Personnel Manager or his designee has been delivered to the Union, the grievance shall be considered and, if possible, settled in a conference between representatives of the Local, the Sugar and Allied Products Division of the International, and/or other Management representatives on the other hand.
"(d) If the grievance is not so settled, the Union may demand arbitration by notifying the Company in writing. Such demand must take place within two (2) weeks after the conclusion of the conference referred to in (c) above. The parties have, upon the execution
The issue on the exception is whether the plaintiff had a duty to exhaust his remedies under the agreement before he could seek relief in the courts.
The plaintiff argues that he is not bound by the collective bargaining agreement because he was not an employee at the time demand for vacation pay was made. However, the plaintiff does assert that the right of an employee to vacation pay was created by the arbitration agreement, which places the plaintiff in a position of arguing that one part of the collective bargaining agreement is applicable to him and that other parts are not applicable to him.
The position assumed by the plaintiff is untenable. The United States Supreme Court has held that federal labor policy requires an aggrieved employee to attempt to use of established grievance procedures before seeking other modes of redress, where those procedures are made exclusive by the applicable bargaining agreement. Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650, 85 S.Ct. 614, 13 L.Ed.2d 580 (1965). One exception to the requirement that contract remedies be exhausted is where the union has sole power under the contract to invoke higher stages of the grievance procedure and the employee-plaintiff has been prevented from exhausting his contractual remedies by the union's wrongful refusal to process the grievance. Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 87 S.Ct. 903, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967).
The basis of this suit is not simply a former employee suing for money earned and not paid under R.S. 23:640. The basic issue is whether the former employee is still considered an employee such that he is entitled to accrual of vacation rights under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It involves an interpretation of that agreement and a determination if the Union, representing the employees, and the Company bargained for those particular benefits. In a collective bargaining agreement, each party gives up certain rights and benefits to achieve other rights and benefits. This collective bargaining agreement in the Article entitled "Finality and Effect of the Agreement" makes the grievance procedure established in Article III exclusive. Article XXIII(3) says in part,
". Therefore, the Company and the Union, each agrees that except as specifically provided in this Agreement, the other shall not be obligated to bargain collectively with respect to any matter."
In consequence, we must reach the conclusion that the grievance procedure established in Article III of the Agreement is applicable. Because the plaintiff failed to plead that he had submitted his complaint through the grievance procedure and that the Union failed to act or acted in a manner that would place the plaintiff under the exception created by Vaca v. Sipes (supra), we must hold that plaintiffs suit is premature. It is a general rule of law that a party must exhaust his administrative remedy before relief can be sought in the courts, unless doing so would be vain and useless. Bagert v. Moreau, La.App., 325 So.2d 702 (1976).
Accordingly, the judgment maintaining the exception of prematurity is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
LEMMON, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
. Article X — Vacations
(1) As of February 1 of each year, each employee who has worked 1250 hours in the prior 12 month period shall be entitled to a vacation with pay according to the following table:
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