Legal Definitions - Lingle test

The Lingle test is a legal principle used in labor law to determine whether a union member's state-law claim against their employer is preempted by the Labor-Management Relations Act.

The Lingle test states that if the state-law claim can be resolved without interpreting the collective-bargaining agreement, then there is no preemption.

For example, if a union member files a state-law claim against their employer for violating minimum wage laws, and the claim can be resolved by simply looking at the state's minimum wage laws without interpreting the collective-bargaining agreement, then the Lingle test would not apply and the claim would not be preempted.

The Lingle test was established in the case of Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. in 1988.