The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement is enforceable. Although not an employment case, the decision likely signals that an employee’s waiver of the right to bring a class action will be enforceable if included in an employment agreement that requires arbitration to settle any employment-related dispute. American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, No. 12-133 (June 20, 2013). A copy of the opinion is available here.

What does this decision mean for employers?
Continue Reading Supreme Court Says a Class Action Waiver in Arbitration Agreement is Enforceable

As a matter of federal law, employers can require employees to agree to arbitrate any employment dispute.  But, can that arbitration agreement force an employee to arbitrate only individual claims, not class (or collective) claims?  Recently, the National Labor Relations Board said NOClick here for the Board’s ruling.

This ruling appears at odds with a ruling by the United States Supreme Court in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Conception.  There, the Supreme Court considered a California state law that invalidated any arbitration agreement that included a mandatory waiver of class claims.  The Supreme Court noted that the right to pursue class claims is a procedural right, not statutory, and overturned the California law.  Some employers then adopted arbitration agreements that included waivers of an employee’s ability to pursue class or collective actions. 
Continue Reading Labor Board Rules that Arbitration Agreements Forbidding Class Arbitration is Unlawful