The U.S. Supreme Court has once again confirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts incompatible state laws that preclude contracting parties from controlling which claims are subject to arbitration. Ruling in...more
6/20/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
For the second time in two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a company seeking to compel individual arbitration of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action claims. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon,...more
On December 23, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, or the Board) overturned an Obama-era decision regarding deference to labor arbitration proceedings....more
12/27/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Babcock & Wilcox Construction ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Contract ,
Filing Grievances ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
UPS ,
Wrongful Termination
The Supreme Court held last year in Epic Systems v. Lewis that mandatory arbitration agreements requiring employees to arbitrate claims against their employer on an individual—rather than on a class or collective—basis are...more
8/25/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In response to the #MeToo movement, New York State has led the way in enacting legislation to expand employee rights to file and recover for sexual harassment claims. ...more
7/16/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Morgan Stanley ,
NYSHRL ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on January 15 dealt a blow to employers in transportation industries, ruling that those workers—including those classified as independent contractors—are exempt from the Federal...more
1/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis was extended by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last week in Gaffers v. Kelly Services, Inc. ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that employers can lawfully require employees to resolve employment disputes through individual arbitration rather than by joining other employees in class or collective actions....more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in three cases—NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, and Ernst & Young, et al. v. Morris—to resolve whether arbitration provisions in employment agreements...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide an important issue that has deeply divided the Courts of Appeals—are arbitration provisions in employment agreements that waive an employee's right to bring or participate in class...more
1/16/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Case Consolidation ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 7
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced this week that it agrees with the National Labor Relations Board that individual arbitration waiver agreements, which prevent employees from filing or participating in...more
8/26/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7
Conflicting decisions issued within one week of each other from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits exemplify the ongoing debate in circuit courts across the country about the enforceability of...more
6/9/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Section 7
In Opalinski v. Robert Half International, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that where an arbitration clause is silent as to the availability of classwide arbitration, that issue should...more
On December 3, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ruling that an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by requiring employees to...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has joined the clear majority of federal district courts in concluding that employment arbitration agreements may bar class and collective actions, in spite of the National...more