Punitive Damages Under Section 102 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

It is firmly established that in a suit brought under section 102, a union member may ordinarily recover compensatory damages for any injury proximately caused by a violation of Title I or section 609. The courts are divided, however, on the question of whether a plaintiff may be awarded punitive damages under section 102. This article will address that question by discussing the language and the legislative history of section 102, the conflicting decisions of the federal courts, and the relevant policy considerations.