Arbitration Agreements

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The United States Supreme Court unanimously held that when a district court compels claims to arbitration, the district court must stay – rather than dismiss – the district court case.  In Smith v. Spizzirri, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split.  It overruled precedent from the First, Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits and agreed with decisions from the Second…

Continue Reading Staying Around – The Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split and Mandates that Cases Compelled to Arbitration be Stayed (Not Dismissed)
By: Michael Afar, Daniel Whang, and Cassandra Frias
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 15, 2022, in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, the United States Supreme Court ruled that individual claims under the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) can be compelled to arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, partially preempting the California Supreme Court’s longstanding and contrary Iskanian decision.

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Continue Reading SCOTUS Bids FAArewell to Prohibition of Representative PAGA Waivers Contained in Arbitration Agreements

By: Jennifer A. Riley, Andrew Scroggins, and Tyler Zmick

Seyfarth Synopsis: As we previously reported, employers generally have found success when the United States Supreme Court takes up questions about the arbitrability of workplace disputes. The unanimous decision in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon bucks that trend, holding that those who load cargo onto airplanes engaged in interstate…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Ruling Ramps Up Opportunities For Certain Workers To Challenge Arbitration Agreements Under Federal Law

By: Julia Keenan and Noah Finkel

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court held that no showing of prejudice is necessary to establish a waiver of the right to arbitrate. The validity and enforceability of arbitration agreements themselves is not affected by this ruling.

Followers of this blog, and of wage and hour litigation generally, have seen an unbroken string of victories…
Continue Reading Prejudice will no longer be considered when deciding if a waiver of arbitration occurred; Not to worry, arbitration clauses still as enforceable as ever

By: Robert Whitman and John Phillips

If Appraisal Is Governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, What Is the Process? | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | Merlin Law GroupSeyfarth Synopsis: Recently, Congress passed significant new legislation amending the Federal Arbitration Act and precluding employers from mandating that employees arbitrate sexual harassment or sexual assault claims.  Importantly for employers, however, this new law does not impact employers’ ability to require arbitration of wage-hour claims, which, for most employers, is benefit of employment arbitration …
Continue Reading Mandatory Arbitration of Wage-Hour Claims Alive and Well After Congress Bans Some Agreements

By: Robert Whitman and John Phillips

As we previously reported, arbitration agreements have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, especially with regard to claims for sexual harassment/assault arising during employment.

A number of states have already attempted to limit employers’ ability to require arbitration of such claims.  For example, state legislatures in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,…
Continue Reading Bipartisan Push to Curb Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims Gaining Momentum

By: Andrew McKinley & Kyle Winnick

Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 9, 2021, the Tenth Circuit issued a ruling beneficial to alleged joint employers in wage and hour lawsuits.  The Court held that a customer of staffing agencies could compel arbitration pursuant to arbitration agreements entered into between the plaintiffs and the staffing agencies, even though the customer was not a …
Continue Reading The Tenth Circuit Thwarts Plaintiffs’ Attempt to Circumvent Arbitration Agreements, and Strengthens Alleged Joint Employers’ Ability to Compel Arbitration

By: Ryan McCoy

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) exempts workers engaged in interstate commerce from enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements. Uber drivers (and other drivers working in the gig economy) have frequently argued that they fit under this “interstate transportation” exemption in order to avoid arbitration of their claim that they have been misclassified as independent contractors. A …
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Rules Uber Drivers Must Arbitrate Classification Claims Because They Are Not Interstate Transportation Workers

By: John Yslas

Arbitration agreement resolution of commercial disputes on a desk.

Seyfarth Synopsis: In vetoing the California Legislature’s attempt to criminalize arbitration agreements (AB 3080), Governor Brown displayed common sense and the legal learning provided by recent U.S. Supreme Court authority.

Haven’t high courts already upheld mandatory arbitration agreements?

Yes, they have. The California…
Continue Reading Governor Brown Vetoes Legislative Attempt to Criminalize Mandatory Arbitration

By: Noah A. Finkel, David S. Baffa, Daniel C. Whang, and Andrew L. Scroggins

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In one of the most significant employment cases in memory, a sharply divided United States Supreme Court held today that employers may require employees, as a condition of employment, to enter into arbitration agreements that contain waivers of the ability to …
Continue Reading A Class Waiver Can Be A Condition of Employment