Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) › Labor & Employment Law › Civil Remedies

Can You Enforce an Arbitration Clause on the Other Side Just Before Trial?

Can You Enforce an Arbitration Clause on the Other Side Just Before Trial? by Gary S. Young on May 10, 2013 The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently considered how late is “too late” to invoke an arbitration clause in a...more

Facebook Posts Breached Confidentiality Agreement

The decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) in Tremblay v. 1168531 Ontario Inc. serves as yet another reminder that Facebook postings can have significant consequences. It is also the first decision before...more

Texas District Court Deems Arbitration Agreement Enforceable

The US District Court for the Southern District of Texas recently held that a dispute between a group of employers and a former employee should be submitted to arbitration, finding that the arbitration agreement was valid and...more

The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - March 2013

In this Issue: - Editor's Overview - Risk of Addiction Relapse May Entitle Plan Participants to Disability Benefits - Rulings, Filings, and Settlements of Interest ...more

Former Employee’s Facebook Post About Settlement Breached Confidentiality Provision In Settlement Agreement: Tribunal Reduced...

Trish-Ann Tremblay had entered into a settlement agreement with her former employer, 1168531 Ontario Inc., on September 13, 2011, with respect to the Human Rights Application she had filed against 1168531 Ontario Inc.. The...more

Canadian Courts Consider Alcohol and Drug Testing in the Workplace

The Supreme Court of Canada (in Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd. v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30) and the Alberta Court of Appeal (in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 707 v....more

Privacy Breaches Can Be One-Two Punch for Employers: Arbitrator Awards Damages for Employee Credit Checks that Breached Privacy...

Twenty-six employees of the Alberta Justice and Attorney General’s Maintenance Enforcement Program (“MEP”) were each awarded $1250.00 in damages each after a Peace Officer carrying out a workplace investigation used their...more

Michigan Becomes 24th Right to Work State with Public Acts 348 and 349 of 2012

As promised, yesterday evening, Governor Rick Snyder signed two separate bills into law: SB-01116, now known as Public Act 348 of 2012 and HB-4003, now known as Public Act 349 of 2012....more

No Second-Hand Smoke Damages under Safety Clause of Collective Agreement: Ontario Court

The Ontario Divisional Court has upheld an arbitrator’s decision that a collective agreement provision requiring the employer – two Ontario government ministries – to take reasonable safety precautions could not be used to...more

Nelsen v. Legacy Partners Residential, Inc. - Court of Appeal Not Persuaded by D.R. Horton - Arbitration Agreements Precluding...

Breaking with the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling that arbitration agreements containing class waivers can violate federal labor law, the California Court of Appeal recently held that an arbitration agreement...more

RN’s Harassment and Bullying of RPNs was “Subtle” and “Insidious”: Arbitrator Refuses to Reinstate

A labour arbitrator has refused to reinstate a discharged Registered Nurse because of her “subtle” and “insidious” bullying and harassment of Registered Practical Nurses. In 2010, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre...more

Class-Action Waivers in Employment Agreements Deemed Valid by California Appeals Court

In a precedent-toppling decision last week, a California appellate court held that a class-action waiver in an employment arbitration agreement was valid after concluding that a California Supreme Court decision to the...more

California Court Approves Class Action Waivers In Employment Arbitration Agreements

The plaintiff in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, brought a putative class action and a representative action under California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) for various wage and hour violations. During his...more

Everything an Employer Could Ask For in One Decision on Class Action Waivers

On June 4, 2012, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Two, issued Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC ("Iskanian"), a sweeping pro-employer decision that endorses every defense-side argument...more

Iskanian v. CLS Transport

California Court of Appeals ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transport

Full text copy of the California Court of Appeals decision to uphold the arbitration agreement signed by Arshavir Iskanian while working for CLS Transportation. From Thomson Reuters: “Consumer and employee advocates have...more

Executive Entitled to Bonus Despite Breach of Fiduciary Duty

The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently restored an arbitrator’s decision granting a terminated executive his bonus despite his misappropriation of the employer’s money and resources during the period in which the bonus was...more

NRLB Takes Aim At 24 Hour Fitness Over Employee Arbitration Opt-Out Policy

As reported in The Recorder, (subscription required) the National Labor Relations Board has filed a formal complaint against 24 Hour Fitness, alleging the gym company’s arbitration opt-out policy compels employees to waive...more

Injured Ambulance Attendant who Assumed Potential Safety Risk Entitled to Be Accommodated: Ontario Arbitrator

An Ontario arbitrator has held that an ambulance attendant was entitled to be accommodated by the employer, by permitting him to “ride 3rd” in an ambulance despite a potential but not actual risk to his safety. The...more

The NLRB Takes the Position that Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements — Even for Non-Union Employers — is an Unfair...

Arbitration Agreements Are Used With Increasing Frequency by Employers Those running a business know the challenges, perils and pitfalls of attempting to comply with the complex expanse of state and federal laws...more

Arbitration, Sales Reps and Personal Injury Claims

While it doesn’t involve a drug or device claim, James v. Conceptus, Inc., N. H-11-1183, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32434 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 12, 2012), does involve a device company, sales rep, arbitration clause, and a determination...more

New Requirement For Arbitration Agreements

Last week, the Fourth Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal published an opinion, Mayers v. Volt Management Corp., further clarifying the obligations on California employers with respect to the information that...more

Employment Law Commentary - Volume 24, No. 1 January 2012

In this issue: Titans Clash and Uncertainty Abounds – The Ongoing Turmoil Regarding Enforceability of Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements in California and D.R Horton, Inc. - The NLRB Weighs in on Class...more

Appealing an Arbitration Decision - A Success Story

Recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an interesting decision involving the appeal of a grievance arbitration decision filed by a Commonwealth Agency – the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The...more

Covenants Not To Compete: The Swinging Pendulum Of Enforceability

I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF NONCOMPETE LAW IN TEXAS... 1 A. The First “Reasonable” Period ... 1 B. Section 15.50... 3 C. The Incredible Darkness of Light ... 3 1. “An Otherwise Enforceable Agreement at the Time the...more

New NLRB Ruling Curbs Arbitration Agreements, Raises Tensions with Supreme Court Precedent

In a decision certain to invite legal challenge, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently held that employment arbitration agreements that require employees to waive their rights to collective or class actions...more