N.Y. Civil Practice Law & Rules § 217: Proceeding against body or officer; actions complaining about conduct that would constitute a union's breach of its duty of fair represen...

§ 217. Proceeding against body or officer; actions complaining about

conduct that would constitute a union's breach of its duty of fair

representation; four months. 1. Unless a shorter time is provided in

the law authorizing the proceeding, a proceeding against a body or

officer must be commenced within four months after the determination to

be reviewed becomes final and binding upon the petitioner or the person

whom he represents in law or in fact, or after the respondent's refusal,

upon the demand of the petitioner or the person whom he represents, to

perform its duty; or with leave of the court where the petitioner or the

person whom he represents, at the time such determination became final

and binding upon him or at the time of such refusal, was under a

disability specified in section 208, within two years after such time.

2. (a) Any action or proceeding against an employee organization

subject to article fourteen of the civil service law or article twenty

of the labor law which complains that such employee organization has

breached its duty of fair representation regarding someone to whom such

employee organization has a duty shall be commenced within four months

of the date the employee or former employee knew or should have known

that the breach has occurred, or within four months of the date the

employee or former employee suffers actual harm, whichever is later.

(b) Any action or proceeding by an employee or former employee against

an employer subject to article fourteen of the civil service law or

article twenty of the labor law, an essential element of which is that

an employee organization breached its duty of fair representation to the

person making the complaint, shall be commenced within four months of

the date the employee or former employee knew or should have known that

the breach has occurred, or within four months of the date the employee

or former employee suffers actual harm, whichever is later.