Opinion ID: 2639013
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Adequacy of Alternative Remedy

Text: Under the alternative remedies doctrine, a state or federal statute would be substituted for a state retaliation claim if the substituted statute provides for an adequate alternative remedy. [Citations omitted.] The question to ask in resolving recognition of a state tort claim for retaliatory discharge is whether the statutory remedy is adequate and thus precludes the common-law remedy. [Citation omitted.] Flenker, 266 Kan. at 202-03. In this case, Burlington Northern argues that arbitration under the RLA is an adequate alternative remedy because it provides for reinstatement, restoration of seniority, and an award for economic loss. It also points out that a claimant may be represented by counsel and that awards must be in writing. It characterizes Hysten's inability to recover compensatory damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages as relatively minor omissions from a comprehensive scheme of redress. We held in Flenker that the remedy in § 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act was inadequate because (1) a plaintiff had only 30 days to file his or her claim; (2) the claim was filed with the Secretary of Labor, who had sole discretion to decide whether to pursue a wrongful discharge claim; and (3) the statute did not include guidelines `as to what factors the Secretary must or may consider to constitute an investigation.' Flenker, 266 Kan. at 205-07. We focused on the allocation of the decision to pursue an employee's claim of retaliatory discharge to an administrative agency rather than to the plaintiff. Flenker, 266 Kan. at 208-10 (citing Coleman, 242 Kan. at 813-14). In Coleman, as Burlington Northern concedes, we were critical of reliance on arbitration in the public policy tort arena: The grievance and arbitration procedure is an inappropriate forum for the enforcement of state public policy because arbitrators are bound by the limitations imposed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. . . . Arbitral procedures, while well suited to the resolution of contractual disputes, are comparatively inappropriate for the resolution of tort claims . . . . As Justice Powell reasoned . . ., the specialized competence of arbitrators pertains primarily to the law of the shop, and not the law of the land. The factfinding process in arbitration does not equate with judicial factfinding. Rules of evidence do not usually apply; the rights and procedures common to civil trials such as discovery, compulsory process, cross-examination, and testimony under oath are often severely limited or unavailable. [Citation omitted.] These limitations have a significant impact in a case of retaliatory discharge where the focus is on the employer's motive for the firing. Coleman, 242 Kan. at 813-14. As in Coleman, the RLA process at issue here is arbitration, a process we have already held is far less than ideal. In terms of control, one might say that Hysten could exercise more control over his claim in the first instance, when compared with the plaintiff in Flenker. Burlington Northern also argues that he had a right to appeal the ruling of the National Railroad Adjustment Board to federal district court. Although this is true, we agree with Hysten that the narrowness of the standard of review on that appeal robbed him of most of his control over the issues to be addressed. In the words of the United States Supreme Court, the RLA provides that the Board's decisions shall be final and binding upon both parties to the dispute. An adverse decision may be appealed to the federal district court on only three grounds: (1) failure of the Adjustment Board to comply with the requirements of the Railway Labor Act; (2) failure of the Adjustment Board to conform, or confine itself to matters within the scope of its jurisdiction; and (3) fraud or corruption. Union Pacific R. Co. v. Sheehan, 439 U.S. 89, 93, 58 L. Ed. 2d 354, 99 S. Ct. 399 (1978) (citing 45 U.S.C. § 153[q]). This narrow standard insulates the factfinding of the Board from careful judicial scrutiny. This is unsatisfactory, given our earlier observation that factfinding in arbitration is deficient when compared with factfinding in the judicial process. See Coleman, 242 Kan. at 813-14. We also do not regard the unavailability of compensatory damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages as trivial. As we recognized in Coleman, a retaliatory discharge action, such as the one Hysten brings here, is designed to redress a violation of state public policy. Coleman, 242 Kan. at 813. The availability of compensatory damages beyond those designed to eliminate purely economic loss and particularly the availability of punitive damages can deter such violations. As Judge Posner said: It is a grave matter for an employer to fire an employee for exercising a legal right. Jackson, 717 F.2d at 1060. Deterrence of such conduct is essential. A recent federal case from the Northern District of Illinois held that the unavailability of punitive damages under the RLA did not make it an inadequate alternative to an action for retaliatory discharge under Illinois law. See Emery v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter R. Corp., 2003 WL 22176077 (N.D. Ill. 2003). However, the decision suggests the result would have been the opposite if Illinois law would have permitted recovery of such damages in that instance. In contrast, Kansas law would permit recovery of punitive damages in Hysten's action for retaliatory discharge. See Murphy v. City of Topeka, 6 Kan. App. 2d 488, Syl. ¶ 7, 630 P.2d 186 (1981). We conclude that the remedy afforded Hysten by the RLA is not an adequate alternative to a retaliatory discharge action under Kansas tort law. We are influenced by differences in process, differences in claimant control, and differences in the damages available. It may be that additional factors will also be influential in a future case. Here, all of these differences are enough to dictate that the second certified question be answered: No. We answer the first certified question in the affirmative and the second certified question in the negative. Kansas law recognizes a tort of retaliatory discharge for exercise of an injured employee's rights under FELA, and any RLA proceeding available to that employee is not an adequate alternative remedy.