On January 15, 2019, the United States Supreme Court held in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira that a trucking company could not compel its drivers, which it classified as independent contractors, to arbitrate their wage and hour claims against the company because Congress intended to exempt all interstate transportation workers from the Federal Arbitration Act … Continue Reading
As the Supreme Court’s October 2018 term opened, we wrote about three significant cases on its docket involving arbitration, each of which are likely to have an impact on the arbitration of employment-related claims. The Court issued its decision in the first of those cases on January 8, 2019. In his first opinion since joining … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board recently issued more good news for unionized employers. In a guidance memorandum last week, the Board’s General Counsel announced an updated approach that will help employers avoid litigating unfair labor practice charges filed by unions or union-represented employees who have filed grievances regarding the same underlying dispute.… Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court held in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employers can require employees to agree to arbitrate disputes between them solely on an individual basis and to waive class and collective action litigation procedures without running afoul of federal law. (See our post here). Addressing an issue not … Continue Reading
We’ve been keeping you apprised of the many developments over the past few years coming from the United States Supreme Court and other courts concerning agreements between employers and their employees to arbitrate disputes arising out of the employment relationship. The Supreme Court’s decision last term in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which we discussed in … Continue Reading
In a rare victory for employers in California, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a much talked about law designed to end arbitration of substantially all employment disputes.… Continue Reading
On August 22, 2018, the California State Senate passed AB 3080, which, if signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, would invalidate two types of commonly-used employment contracts that have been the subject of significant dialogue in the vast wake of the #metoo movement. First, the bill proposes to prohibit employers from requiring employees to … Continue Reading
For the past six years, employers have challenged the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) position that the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) prohibits employers from requiring employees to forego class and collective action and instead individually litigate their employment-related claims. (Our prior coverage on this issue has been extensive – see here.) After a long … Continue Reading
In the current climate where sexual assault and harassment allegations against Hollywood elite, Congressmen and news anchors have triggered a wave of “me too” allegations, several tools commonly used by employers to shield themselves from liability have come under attack, including non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and arbitration agreements. Many employers require employees to sign NDAs as … Continue Reading
Yesterday marked the first day of the United States Supreme Court’s new term, and the first case heard (Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis) was one of interest to employers around the country. In several cases consolidated before the Court on appeal, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) found employer arbitration agreements that included waivers of … Continue Reading
In early August, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued two decisions regarding class and collective action waivers. Like its earlier decisions in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Murphy Oil USA, Inc., both decisions supported employers’ use of waivers to eliminate group lawsuits against them in employment cases. The two new cases, … Continue Reading
Court joins Seventh and Ninth Circuits in holding that employer’s requiring employees to waive class and collective action procedures as a condition of employment is unenforceable, but issue will be resolved late this year by United States Supreme Court The issue of whether an employer can require, as a condition of employment, that an employee … Continue Reading
On April 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in McGill v. Citibank, once again striking out against arbitration agreements – this time declining to enforce a provision in a credit card account agreement which prevented the cardholder from bringing a claim for an injunction on behalf of the general public. The legal focus … Continue Reading
As followers of our blog know, we have been closely watching developments over the past few years involving the tension between the National Labor Relations Board and the courts concerning whether arbitration agreements that require employees to resolve most employment-related disputes in individual arbitration proceedings, and bar the use of class or collective action … Continue Reading
When it comes to employment laws, California is generally considered an employee‑friendly state. On September 25, California Governor Jerry Brown made it just a little more friendly by signing bill S.B. 1241. For employees that primarily reside and work in California, S.B. 1241 prohibits employers from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to … Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit joins Seventh Circuit in holding that class and collective action waivers in arbitration agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act and therefore are unenforceable. The question is straightforward enough: does an employer violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by requiring that employees sign an agreement to arbitrate any claims concerning their wages, … Continue Reading
Nearly two years after Waffle House Inc. employee Carrie Harris filed an unfair labor practices charge, the Georgia-based breakfast chain was unable to butter up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Harris’ complaint alleged that Waffle House’s arbitration agreement that employees were required to execute as a condition of their employment violated the National Labor … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court has once again reinforced its interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act, ruling on December 14 that a California state law prohibiting class action waivers in arbitration agreements may not trump the Court’s earlier decision in favor of enforcement of arbitration agreements. In the four years since the Supreme Court’s decision in … Continue Reading
Fifth Circuit Rejects NLRB’s En Banc Hearing Request, Setting Up Likely Denial of Enforcement in Murphy Oil, USA In its 2012 decision in D.R. Horton, Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that employers that require employees to agree to arbitrate employment-related claims, and to do so only on an individual basis, waiving the … Continue Reading
Readers of our blog are well aware of the National Labor Relations Board’s position that agreements between employers and employees to resolve employment-related claims on an individual basis through binding arbitration, and which thereby waive or prohibit the bringing of such claims on a class or collective action basis, violate the guarantee in Section 7 … Continue Reading
On January 20, the United States Supreme Court denied a motion for certiorari filed by CLS Transportation which was appealing the California Supreme Court’s decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation, about which we blogged in June. While Iskanian generally vindicated employers’ right to enforce class action bans in arbitration agreements, the California Supreme Court distinguished … Continue Reading
In an effort to go paperless, many employers send and obtain signatures for important employment documents electronically. A decision issued by the California Court of Appeal on December 23, 2014 highlights the dangers employers may face when relying on an entirely electronic system. In Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc. [pdf] (Case No. E057529), … Continue Reading
As we’ve reported here and here, recent decisions from the US Supreme Court, federal appellate courts, and more recently, even the California Supreme Court (see here) have clarified that class and collective action waivers in arbitration agreements, including those that waive employees’ right to bring a claim under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) … Continue Reading
