By David S. Baffa, Noah A. Finkel, and Joseph S. Turner
Seyfarth Synopsis: Congress has once again proposed legislation that would seek to ban mandatory workplace arbitration of employment claims, despite a string of United States Supreme Court decisions upholding arbitration and class/collective action waivers as a lawful and appropriate mechanism to resolve workplace disputes.
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Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB has withdrawn the significant concession it offered at oral argument on the nature of the NLRA rights it seeks to assert in the face of employers’ mandatory arbitration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 Kara Goodwin and Noah Finkel
Pending before the United States Supreme Court is a petition for writ of certiorari asking the Court to determine whether an employer may use payments for bona fide meal periods as an offset/credit against compensable work time. If the Supreme Court accepts the case, it would also provide an excellent opportunity for the
Continue Reading No Good Deed Goes Unpunished – The Supreme Court May Decide Whether Payments for Meal Breaks Can Offset Alleged Off-The-Clock Work
Authored by John P. Phillips
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently the Ninth Circuit doubled down on its decision that service advisers at car dealerships are not exempt from the FLSA, despite being overturned once by the U.S. Supreme Court. This case gives the Supreme Court an excellent opportunity to address the proper construction of FLSA exemptions and allow the plain and common
Continue Reading The Ninth Circuit Goes All In. Will the Supreme Court Call?
Authored by Jeff Glaser
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals cites to the FLSA’s purpose and spirit in upholding the dismissal of a minimum wage and overtime claim brought by a highly paid computer software and hardware engineer.
As we’ve discussed on this blog before, the Supreme Court’s decision in Christopher v SmithKline Beecham Corp.
Continue Reading The Spirit of the FLSA Haunts a Highly Paid Employee
Co-authored by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christina M. Janice, Michael W. Stevens, and Kylie R. Byron
Make no mistake, the role of Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court profoundly impacts the balance of power among the branches of our government. Now, with the untimely passing of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, the void created in the
Continue Reading What Employers Need To Know About Supreme Court Issues After The Passing Of Justice Scalia
Co-authored by Kara Goodwin and Noah Finkel
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to resolve the question of whether “service advisors” at car dealerships—workers whose primary job responsibilities involve identifying service needs and selling service solutions to the dealership’s customers—are exempt from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime pay requirements. Although the case involves a somewhat-discrete exemption that has
Continue Reading Meowing Dogs and Barking Cats: Supreme Court’s Grant of Cert on Exempt Status of Automobile Service Advisors May Result in Reminder that Exemptions Are Functional and Flexible
Authored by Noah Finkel
As noted by this blog on several occasions, including most recently here, the U.S. Supreme Court and several appellate courts have grappled with the question of whether and to what extent a defendant facing a class or collective action can moot a case by offering a plaintiff complete relief under Rule 68 or in a
Continue Reading Reports of the Death of the Mootness Maneuver Are Greatly Exaggerated