On May 16, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States held that when a federal district court determines that claims in a lawsuit are subject to arbitration and a party requests a stay, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)...more
On April 22, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States conducted oral arguments in a case addressing federal courts’ handling of lawsuits after claims are compelled to arbitration. The Supreme Court seemed skeptical that...more
On February 15, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a 2020 California law that attempted to prohibit employers from requiring employees and job applicants to agree to arbitration as a condition of employment. The...more
2/17/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
On December 9, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a petition for certiorari in a case raising the question of whether a non-frivolous appeal to the denial of a motion to compel arbitration strips the...more
On March 31, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Badgerow v. Walters, No 20-1143, addressing when federal courts have jurisdiction to rule on motions to confirm, modify, or vacate arbitration...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed S. 2342, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, just a few days after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill, H.R. 4445, on...more
As discussed in our prior article, California recently enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 51, a law that attempts to ban certain mandatory employment arbitration agreements in the state. Specifically, this new law purports to bar...more
1/2/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
California recently enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 51, a law that attempts to ban certain mandatory employment arbitration agreements in the state. But what is the practical impact of AB 51 in light of its possible preemption by...more
10/28/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Legislative History ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws
On August 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling clarifying several mandatory arbitration issues following the 2018 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Epic Systems Corp. v....more
In response to the #MeToo movement, a number of states have adopted legislation addressing sexual harassment claims. These include Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. Some of these state statutes attempt to ban or...more
In a surprise decision, the Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled on September 27, 2018, that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not protect employment arbitration agreements that are required as a condition of employment....more
10/15/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
KY Supreme Court ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
State Labor Laws ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Whistleblowers
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States settled the contentious class action waiver issue that has riled courts for the past six years. In a 5-4 opinion, the Court upheld class action waivers in arbitration...more
5/21/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Murphy Oil USA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS
On October 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in three consolidated cases that will decide the future of class action waivers in the employment context. These cases—National Labor Relations...more
10/3/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Case Consolidation ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Murphy Oil USA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS
August 11, 2017, was the deadline for interested parties to submit comments regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to formally rescind its controversial persuader rule, which was issued in 2016 under the...more
8/16/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
LMRDA ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Persuader Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
On July 19, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States released the October 2017 term’s calendar for oral arguments, including the date it will hear oral argument in the three consolidated class action waiver cases that are...more
It was no surprise when, on June 16, 2017, numerous business and employer groups (including several represented by Ogletree Deakins) filed over a dozen amicus briefs supporting the employers in the three class action waiver...more
6/23/2017
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Employment Contract ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General
On January 13, 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the contentious class action waiver issue that has riled courts for the past four years.
In January 2012, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in D.R. Horton,...more
In a major win for employers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, on December 3, 2013, rejected the highly controversial D.R. Horton, Inc. decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
...more
In 1982, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held in Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. United States that employers and employees cannot settle claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) unless (1) the settlement is...more
With a few casual sentences, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has called into question the standards used by most district courts for the past three decades to certify collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
In a prior post, we wrote about a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals enforcing a private settlement agreement that released claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even though the agreement did...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently enforced an agreement settling claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even though the settling parties never received approval from the district court, and the agreement...more