Court Opinion

ID: 9482808
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 09:01:16.393732+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:49:13.160607
License: Public Domain

RYMER, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I would affirm the summary judgment entered by Judge Kenyon because he correctly found that Lopez’s claim for fraudulent concealment would necessarily entail reference to, and interpretation of, the health and safety provisions contained in Article 17 of the Master Agreement.
Article 17 begins with an acknowledgment by Continental Can and the Union that “high standards of safety and health are necessary to prevent industrial injury and illness,” and reflects their agreement to cooperate to that end. Section 17.1 requires Continental Can to “continue to make reasonable provisions ... for the safety and health of its employees at the plant during the hours of their employment.” The Master Agreement further establishes a Joint Safety and Health Committee to assist the company in carrying *150out its accident prevention and health program, and Continental Can is required to furnish safety and accident reports to the Committee. See §§ 17.2, 17.6. Section 17.9 imposes on the company the obligation to assure that “[c]hemicals, solvents and compounds which are generally known to pose a hazard to safety or health will be properly labeled where stored.” Finally, § 17.7 allows an employee to complain about unsafe or unhealthy conditions, requires an investigation, and provides for grieving an adverse determination.
Lopez’s claim that Continental Can fraudulently concealed the existence of toxic chemicals that aggravated her existing injury requires interpreting the contractual obligations set out in Article 17, because that article defines the extent of Continental’s duty to inform Lopez about the health and safety risks of her workplace. That makes Lopez’s claim substantially dependent upon analysis of the agreements under Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 220, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 1915, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985). Accordingly, it is preempted by § 301.