Last week, the Ninth Circuit issued a significant ruling in Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, concluding that California’s Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”) is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). AB 51, which was passed by...more
2/27/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
On June 15, 2022, in Viking River Cruises vs. Moriana, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 (with Justice Thomas the lone dissenter) that employers can compel arbitration of an employee's individual claims regarding labor code...more
6/17/2022
/ 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 ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana ,
Waivers
On March 30, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, in which the Court is poised to decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act compels enforceability of an individualized arbitration...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed, with wide bipartisan support, the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (HR 4445).” This landmark legislation amends the Federal...more
Generally, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) has routinely been enforced by the balance of the nation’s courts over the years, as it codifies accepted deference to parties’ contracts and agreements and has been held to...more
In the past few months, there have been several developments regarding California’s controversial Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) and similar legislation making its way through other states.
PAGA permits workers to...more
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would overhaul federal labor law with the express purpose of making it easier for unions to organize workers and more difficult for employers to classify them as independent...more
3/12/2021
/ Collective Actions ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pending Legislation ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that arbitration agreements must explicitly provide for class arbitration in order for that process to be available. In a close, 5-4 vote, the justices...more
4/25/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
Last month, a California Court of Appeal reaffirmed that California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) is outside the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and the Supreme Court’s 2018 opinion in Epic Systems v....more
3/29/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
NJLAD ,
NLRA ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Settlement Agreements
On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, ended a six-year dispute started by the National Labor Relations Board’s 2012 decision in D.R. Horton. The...more
6/7/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Discovery ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Unions
On Monday, May 21, 2018, the United State Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion written by Neil Gorsuch, ended a six-year dispute started by the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) 2012 decision in D.R. Horton, 357 NLRB 2277...more
6/6/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS
On Friday, May 26, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals became the latest federal appellate court to weigh in on whether or not arbitration agreements that include class action waivers violate federal labor law, specifically,...more