{"id":1092,"date":"2018-06-01T20:44:18","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T20:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/recent-supreme-court-class-action-waiver-ruling-impact-on-employers\/"},"modified":"2018-06-01T20:44:18","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T20:44:18","slug":"recent-supreme-court-class-action-waiver-ruling-impact-on-employers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/recent-supreme-court-class-action-waiver-ruling-impact-on-employers\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Supreme Court Class Action Waiver Ruling: Impact on Employers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent landmark opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court held that class action waivers in arbitration<\/a> agreements are enforceable.\u00a0 On May 21, 2018, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that employers can use arbitration agreements requiring employees to waive the right to file class action lawsuits and to arbitrate employment disputes individually.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Legal Question did the Court Answer? <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Court consolidated three cases, Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis<\/em><\/a>, Ernst & Young, LLP v. Morris<\/em>, and N.L.R.B. v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc.<\/em>, in considering the issue, summarized by Justice Gorsuch in the majority opinion as follows: \u201cShould employees and employers be allowed to agree that any disputes between them will be resolved through one-on-one arbitration? Or should employees always be permitted to bring their claims in class or collective actions, no matter what they agreed with their employers?\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis<\/em>, No. 16-285, 2018 WL 2292444, at *3 (U.S. May 21, 2018).\u00a0 Each case involved an employee seeking to bring individual and collective claims and an employment agreement requiring the employee to waive any right to class or collective action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s Answer \u2013 Honor the Arbitration Contract Terms <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Court held that arbitration agreements providing for individualized proceedings must be enforced.\u00a0\u00a0 In so holding, the Court emphasized that the Federal Arbitration Act (\u201cFAA\u201d) directs courts to treat arbitration agreements as \u201cvalid, irrevocable, and enforceable\u201d, and that courts are required to rigorously enforce arbitration agreements according to their terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The National Labor Relations Act does not Conflict with Class Arbitration Waivers <\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the National Labor Relations Act (\u201cNLRA\u201d), enacted subsequently to the FAA, guarantees employees the right to take part in \u201cconcerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection\u201d, the Court found no conflict between the FAA and NLRA.\u00a0 The Court noted that the NLRA \u201cdoes not express approval or disapproval of arbitration.\u00a0 It does not even hint at a wish displace the Arbitration Act \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Though the NLRA was enacted in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board did not take the position that class action waivers violated the NLRA until 2012.\u00a0 Thus, the Court declined \u201cto read into the NLRA a novel right to class action procedures that the Board’s own general counsel disclaimed as recently as 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does the Court\u2019s Decision Mean to your Business? <\/strong><\/p>\n

This decision confirms that employers can use arbitration agreements to avoid employment-related class action lawsuits including wage and hour, harassment, and other discrimination claims.\u00a0 Employers should take this as an opportunity to consider (or reconsider) using arbitration agreements with their employees.\u00a0 While this decision certainly weighs in favor of arbitration agreements, each employer should consider its own needs and interests in determining what makes the most sense for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that regard, here are some pros and cons of employee arbitration agreements to consider:<\/p>\n