In Lamps Plus v. Varela, the Supreme Court held yesterday that “[u]nder the Federal Arbitration Act, an ambiguous agreement cannot provide the necessary contractual basis for concluding that the parties agreed to submit to class arbitration.” In the case, Lam... More »
Later this morning, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Hank Johnson and Jerry Nadler will hold a press conference announcing the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, a bill that would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to exempt mandatory... More »
Yesterday New York City Council Members Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams introduced two bills that together would require fast-food corporations to demonstrate “just cause” for discharging employees. The legislation has a broad definition of discharge, encompas... More »
When the Supreme Court issued its decision in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira last week, it was reported as a win for workers. While that’s true, it was more like winning a consolation game after a bad call by a ref deprived you of your rightful place in the champ... More »
The Supreme Court’s opinion in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira is rightly being heralded as a victory for workers. The Court, after all, has finally found a mandatory arbitration agreement that it won’t enforce. But it seems odd that this Supreme Court would hand w... More »
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in New Prime v. Oliveira that transportation workers, both employees and independent contractors, can sidestep forced arbitration and sue their bosses in court. The decision has big implications for America’s truckers and driv... More »
Last week we summarized the briefs submitted by petitioner New Prime Inc. and respondent Dominic Oliveira in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, as well as the briefs submitted by amici curiae for New Prime. Today we examine the briefs submitted by amicus curiae for ... More »
Yesterday we summarized the briefs submitted by petitioner New Prime Inc. and respondent Dominic Oliveira in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, the latest case before the Supreme Court to address the extent of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)’s reach in the em... More »
On October 3 the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, the first arbitration case before the justices since they decided Epic Systems in May. Today we recap the briefs submitted this summer by petitioner New Prime Inc. and respo... More »
After the oral argument in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, I wrote that the five Republican appointees on the Supreme Court would have to put their thumbs heavily on the scale for the employers to prevail. Sadly, it was no surprise that this is exactly what happe... More »
In September, we worried that the Trump Administration was using Epic Systems (aka Murphy Oil) to lay the groundwork for curtailing protection of concerted activity outside the union organizing and collective bargaining context. To our relief, Epic Systems do... More »
The Supreme Court holds this morning in Murphy Oil that class and collective action bars in arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and are not incompatible with the NLRA. The majority opinion by Justice Gorsuch is notab... More »
April 25th, 2019