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
Authored by Simon L. Yang
As discussed by our Consumer Class Defense Blog, this week’s Supreme Court decision in DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia reversed a California Court of Appeal that had applied the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act’s prohibition of class waivers in arbitration agreements. According to the lower court’s decision, an arbitration agreement’s terms—directing application of the “law
Continue Reading Supreme Court Airs Re-Run on Class Waivers in DirecTV But Disappoints Again by Declining PAGA Waiver Programming
Authored by Emily Barker
This week, in Sakkab, et al v. Luxottica Retail North America, Inc., the Ninth Circuit ruled that an employee cannot waive the right to bring a representative action under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) through an arbitration agreement or any other means. In so doing, it found the California Supreme Court’s “Iskanian
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit’s Pro-PAGA Decision Is Not the Death Knell for Class Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
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 Robert S. Whitman
In a decision that management lawyers hope was not an April Fool’s prank, the Fourth Circuit earlier this week upheld an arbitration agreement with a class action waiver, reversing a district court decision that held the waiver unenforceable.
In so holding, the appeals court signaled its continued adherence to the holding in AT&T Mobility LLC
Continue Reading Concepcion Prevails Again: Class Action Waiver Upheld by Fourth Circuit
By Brandon R. McKelvey, Chantelle C. Egan, and Michael A. Wahlander
Last week, the California Supreme Court agreed to decide whether class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are enforceable under California law. In Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, the Court of Appeal held that a class action waiver in an employment arbitration agreement was enforceable