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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September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.
September 9
Ninth Circuit revives Trader Joe’s lawsuit against employee union; new bill aims to make striking workers eligible for benefits; university lecturer who praised Hitler gets another chance at First Amendment claims.
September 8
DC Circuit to rule on deference to NLRB, more vaccine exemption cases, Senate considers ban on forced arbitration for age discrimination claims.
September 7
Another weak jobs report, the Trump Administration's refusal to arbitrate with federal workers, and a district court judge's order on the constitutionality of the Laken-Riley Act.
September 5
Pro-labor legislation in New Jersey; class action lawsuit by TN workers proceeds; a report about wage theft in D.C.