Gig economy companies received bad news yesterday when yet another federal appeals court ruled that delivery drivers – even independent contractors – can escape otherwise valid arbitration agreements. This is now the third...more
8/20/2020
/ Amazon ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification
A federal judge just extended the reprieve that permitted California employers to escape the grasp of a newly enacted law that aimed to prevent them from utilizing mandatory arbitration agreements with their employees. After...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission yesterday withdrew its 1997 policy statement that had disapproved of the practice of requiring workers to enter into arbitration agreements to resolve workplace discrimination...more
12/18/2019
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Title VII
A Massachusetts federal court just ruled that gig workers cannot escape arbitration provisions by claiming they are exempt transportation workers. The September 30 decision in Austin v. DoorDash marks the second win for gig...more
10/18/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interstate Commerce ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
SCOTUS ,
Transportation Industry
Great news for gig economy businesses from an Illinois federal court: a judge recently ruled that Grubhub’s delivery drivers were not operating in “interstate commerce,” and therefore were not excluded from the company’s...more
4/16/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
GrubHub ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Transportation Industry
The $100 million settlement announced Monday by a transportation company to resolve a long-running misclassification claim might be the direct result of a January Supreme Court decision, and might be a troubling harbinger of...more
3/13/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
After the Supreme Court ruled a few weeks ago that independent contractors working “in interstate commerce” were exempt from arbitration pacts due to a broad interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (New Prime v....more
2/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
My colleagues Andy Scott and Felix Digilov reported on last week’s Supreme Court decision that rejected a trucking company’s effort to force its drivers to arbitrate their wage and hour claims against the company, despite the...more
1/23/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
The Supreme Court term that wrapped up in June was one of the most exciting sessions for workplace law in recent memory, with several blockbuster decisions impacting a wide range of labor and employment law issues. From...more
10/5/2018
/ Age Discrimination ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gender Identity ,
Independent Contractors ,
Public Sector ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis, which held that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not bar class or collective action waivers in arbitration...more
10/3/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Back Pay ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
NLRA ,
Savings Clause ,
Wage and Hour
In a widely expected move, the U.S. Supreme Court just agreed to settle a dispute about whether employers can use mandatory class action waivers with their workers. The decision, which should be issued by June 2017, will...more
For the first time, a federal appeals court has dealt a serious blow to class and collective action waivers in arbitration agreements. In Jacob Lewis v. Epic Systems Corporation, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a...more
Looking back at the recently-completed 2012-2013 Supreme Court term, employers should have reason to feel good about how things turned out. In fact, of the six major decisions that impact employers and can be categorized in...more
9/10/2013
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comcast v. Behrend ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fisher v University of Texas ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Harassment ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
Oxford Health v Sutter ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
US v Windsor ,
UT Southwestern Medical v Nassar ,
Vance v. Ball State University