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NLRB Issues First Decision Addressing Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Since Epic Systems (US)

If you’ve been following our blog, you already know that the topic of employer-mandated arbitration agreements has been a hot issue in recent years for government agencies and in the state and federal courts.  Most notably, in May of last year, the United States Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court Rules That Agreement to Class-Based Arbitration Procedures Must Be Explicit  

The Court’s ruling in Lamps Plus, Inc., et al. v. Varela is the latest in the Court’s ongoing pro-employer, pro-arbitration jurisprudence As we first reported here, the United States Supreme Court’s docket this term includes three significant cases interpreting various aspects of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).  Earlier this year, the Court ruled in the … Continue Reading

Minutes Count: California Supreme Court Rejects De Minimis Doctrine for Wage Claim

On July 26, 2018, the California Supreme Court ruled in Troester v. Starbucks Corporation that the federal de minimis doctrine does not apply to a California employee’s class action wage claims.  This ruling will have widespread impact, particularly on those employers with large numbers of non-exempt employees such as retailers and food service providers, as … Continue Reading

United States Supreme Court Issues “Epic” Decision for Employers

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

US DOL’s Voluntary Wage Underpayment Reporting Program – PAID – Now Underway

As we blogged earlier this year, in March 2018, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new program, referred to as PAID (or, Payroll Audit Independent Determination), under which employers may voluntarily apply for DOL assistance in resolving potential claims for wage underpayment under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  As previously … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Weighs Validity of Employer Class Action Waivers; Justices’ Questions Suggest A Close Decision Ahead

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

Sixth Circuit Joins Two Sister Circuits In Holding That Class Action Waivers In Employment Arbitration Agreements Violate National Labor Relations Act

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

Momentum Continues Against Validity of Class and Collection Action Waivers – Delaware District Court Judge Refuses to Enforce Class Action Waiver

We have been closely monitoring the battle over the legality of class and collective action waivers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been steadfast in its position that such waivers run afoul of the NLRA.  The Fifth Circuit was the first Circuit Court to weigh in, consistently … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Widens Circuit Split on Enforceability of Class and Collective Action Waivers In Individual Employment Arbitration Agreements

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

Seventh Circuit Goes It Alone – Upholds NLRB Decision Holding That Class and Collective Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Are Unlawful and Unenforceable

The court is the first federal appellate court to accept the NLRB’s position on the issue The long-running teeter-totter battle between National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) and employers regarding the lawfulness of class and collective action waivers in employment arbitration agreements continues.  Joining the fray this week is the U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue Reading

There Really Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch (for Employers), Says Third Circuit Court of Appeals

On November 24, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (which hears appeals from federal district courts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) issued a precedential opinion addressing when and whether an employer must pay an employee for meal periods. The case was filed by a group of corrections officers at a prison in … Continue Reading

“It’s like déjà vu all over again” – Fifth Circuit Reverses NLRB, For The Second Time, Rejecting Unfair Labor Practice Finding on Class and Collective Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements

With the World Series getting underway, Yogi Berra’s famous quote seemed like the appropriate headline for our latest update in the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) D.R. Horton/Murphy Oil saga.  As we have discussed in previous blog entries, in 2012, the NLRB issued its decision in D.R. Horton, Inc., in which it held that an … Continue Reading
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