Melissa Greenberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
This post is part of OnLabor’s continuing analysis of National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA.
Bloomberg BNA reports that in National Labor Relations Board v. Alternative Entertainment, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit joins the Seventh and Ninth Circuits in upholding the NLRB’s position and finding that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prevents employers from requiring their employees to pursue workplace-related claims individually. In contrast, the Fifth and Eighth Circuits’ reading of the Federal Arbitration Act allows class arbitration waiver provisions to be held enforceable despite the NLRB’s claim that this kind of arbitration provision violates Section 7 of the NLRA.
This decision comes two weeks before opening briefs are due in the consolidated case of Murphy Oil, Epic Systems, and Ernst and Young before the Supreme Court. In the consolidated case, the Supreme Court will be asked to resolve the circuit split.
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February 13
Sex workers in Nevada fight to become the nation’s first to unionize; industry groups push NLRB to establish a more business-friendly test for independent contractor status; and UFCW launches an anti-AI price setting in grocery store campaign.
February 12
Teamsters sue UPS over buyout program; flight attendants and pilots call for leadership change at American Airlines; and Argentina considers major labor reforms despite forceful opposition.
February 11
Hollywood begins negotiations for a new labor agreement with writers and actors; the EEOC launches an investigation into Nike’s DEI programs and potential discrimination against white workers; and Mayor Mamdani circulates a memo regarding the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
February 10
San Francisco teachers walk out; NLRB reverses course on SpaceX; NYC nurses secure tentative agreements.
February 9
FTC argues DEI is anticompetitive collusion, Supreme Court may decide scope of exception to forced arbitration, NJ pauses ABC test rule.
February 8
The Second Circuit rejects a constitutional challenge to the NLRB, pharmacy and lab technicians join a California healthcare strike, and the EEOC defends a single better-paid worker standard in Equal Pay Act suits.