---
kind: "section"
citation: "29 U.S.C. § 185"
title: "29"
title_heading: "Labor"
number: "185"
heading: "Suits by and against labor organizations"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/29/185"
units:
  - "Chapter 7 — Labor-Management Relations"
  - "Subchapter IV — Liabilities of and Restrictions on Labor and Management"
---

# §185. Suits by and against labor organizations

- (a) **Venue, amount, and citizenship—** Suits for violation of contracts between an [employer](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) and a [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) representing [employees](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) in an [industry affecting commerce](/usc/29/142.md?p=1) as defined in this chapter, or between any such [labor organizations](/usc/29/142.md?p=3), may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties, without respect to the amount in controversy or without regard to the citizenship of the parties.
- (b) **Responsibility for acts of agent; entity for purposes of suit; enforcement of money judgments—** Any [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) which represents [employees](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) in an [industry affecting commerce](/usc/29/142.md?p=1) as defined in this chapter and any [employer](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) whose activities affect [commerce](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) as defined in this chapter shall be bound by the acts of its agents. Any such [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) may sue or be sued as an entity and in behalf of the [employees](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) whom it represents in the courts of the United States. Any money judgment against a [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) in a district court of the United States shall be enforceable only against the organization as an entity and against its assets, and shall not be enforceable against any individual member or his assets.
- (c) **Jurisdiction—** For the purposes of actions and proceedings by or against [labor organizations](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) in the district courts of the United States, district courts shall be deemed to have jurisdiction of a [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) (1) in the district in which such organization maintains its principal office, or (2) in any district in which its duly authorized officers or agents are engaged in representing or acting for [employee](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) members.
- (d) **Service of process—** The service of summons, subpena, or other legal process of any court of the United States upon an officer or agent of a [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3), in his capacity as such, shall constitute service upon the [labor organization](/usc/29/142.md?p=3).
- (e) **Determination of question of agency—** For the purposes of this section, in determining whether any [person](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) is acting as an “agent” of another [person](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) so as to make such other [person](/usc/29/142.md?p=3) responsible for his acts, the question of whether the specific acts performed were actually authorized or subsequently ratified shall not be controlling.

## Source credit

(June 23, 1947, ch. 120, title III, § 301, 61 Stat. 156.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), was in the original “this Act” meaning act June 23, 1947, ch. 120, 61 Stat. 136, known as the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, which is classified principally to this subchapter and subchapters III (§ 171 et seq.) and IV (§ 185 et seq.) of this chapter. For complete classification of this act to the Code, see Tables.