Authored by Andrew L. Scroggins, Noah A. Finkel, and David S. Baffa
Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB has withdrawn the significant concession it offered at oral argument on the nature of the NLRA rights it seeks to assert in the face of employers’ mandatory arbitration programs.
As noted in our earlier blog post, the Supreme Court heard oral
Continue Reading NLRB About-Face Highlights Lack of Reasoning on the Class Action “Right” It Seeks to Assert
Authored by Holger G. Besch
Perhaps signaling the importance of the issue for American businesses and jurisprudence, the U.S. Supreme Court chose the first day of its term beginning in October as the date to set oral arguments in three petitions for certiorari asking whether employees can be required to waive their rights via arbitration agreements to file class and
Continue Reading SCOTUS Puts the Class Action Waiver Issue at the Top of Its Agenda
Co-authored by Noah Finkel and Andrew Scroggins
Employers have faced questions about the enforceability of arbitration agreements with class and collective action waivers since the NLRB’s highly controversial D.R. Horton decision in 2012, which held that the waivers violate employees’ right to engage in protected concerted activity. The Fifth Circuit refused to enforce the decision, and other courts followed
Continue Reading Mandatory Arbitration, Class Waivers, and the Future of Wage-Hour Litigation: 6th Circuit Shows One Reason Why High Court Rejection of D.R. Horton Theory Would Not Kill Collective Actions
Co-authored by David D. Kadue and Rocio Herrera
Seyfarth Synopsis: A California appellate court has held that unless a collective bargaining agreement includes an explicitly stated, clear, and unmistakable intent to waive the right to a judicial forum for statutory claims, arbitration of those claims will not be compelled. The CBA in the case, Vasserman v. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial
Continue Reading CBAs Must Specifically State Intent to Arbitrate Statutory Rights
Authored by Simon L. Yang
Seyfarth Synopsis: When the California Supreme Court said no to PAGA waivers in its 2014 Iskanian ruling, we asked whether employers would boldly go where few have gone before and implement arbitration agreements requiring arbitration of PAGA claims. A recent California Court of Appeal decision issued in Perez v. U-Haul Company of California warrants revisiting
Continue Reading Agree to Arbitrate Representative Issues Much?
Authored by Alex Passantino
It’s the week before Christmas, and we’ve accepted our mission,
The annual wage hour “sum-up” composition.
And to start it all off, we’ve got something nice,
‘Cause the Supreme Court addressed wage and hour stuff twice.
The year started out with the first one of those;
As Justice Scalia answered “What counts as clothes?”
With
Continue Reading Integral Clothes and Mistletoes: 2014 Year in Review
Authored by Gena Usenheimer
In a decision that is becoming more and more commonplace, last week the Central District of California enforced a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement, rejecting the panoply of arguments raised by the plaintiff in opposition.
In Appelbaum v. AutoNation, Inc., et al., the plaintiff sought to representative a putative class of service technicians and
Continue Reading Another One Bites the Dust: Central District of California Joins the Chorus of Courts Enforcing Class Action Waivers
Authored by Jim Harris
The California Supreme Court heard oral argument in two important cases involving employment-related class actions. From the tenor of and comments made at the argument, it appears likely that the ultimate results will be a mixed bag for employers.
The first case, Iskanian v. CLS Transportation of Los Angeles, LLC, which we reported on late
Continue Reading Let’s Play Two: California Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Two Important Class Action Cases
Co-authored by Joshua Seidman and Nadia Bandukda
D.R. Horton Who? Who is not the question here, it is why and what is going on with the NLRB saga? Last week, the NLRB filed a petition for rehearing with the Fifth Circuit seeking reconsideration and reversal of the appellate court’s December 2013 decision regarding employee class action waivers.
The Board’s petition
Continue Reading D.R. Horton Rehears a Who: NLRB Files Petition for Rehearing with Fifth Circuit
Authored by Alex Passantino
It’s the week before Christmas, so you know it’s the time
For our review of the year—our wage-hour rhyme.
Our look-back on issues from the past 52 weeks
That grabbed the attention of you wage-hour geeks.
Leading us off is no big surprise:
FLSA filings continue to rise.
A 10% bump; they’re not going away,
Continue Reading Donning Your Kerchief and Doffing Your Cap: 2013 Year in Review