Tag Archives: Arbitration

The California Divide: Federal Courts Refuse to Follow State Supreme Court’s Iskanian Decision

By John Lewis and Dustin Dow on October 22, 2014 Posted in Arbitration, PAGA

One of the last barriers to full enforcement of arbitration agreements with class action waivers sustained another blow last week. A California federal district court disagreed with the California Supreme Court in holding that an employment arbitration agreement can waive an employee’s right to pursue a representative claim under the state’s Private Attorney General Act … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Refuses to Uphold Collective Action Waiver Absent Arbitration

By Greg Mersol on August 11, 2014 Posted in Arbitration, Collective Action, Retail

My working title for this blog was “collective action grab bag,” concerning the recent Sixth Circuit case in Killion v. KeHE Distributors, LLC, Case Nos. 12-3357/4340 (6th Cir. July 31, 2014). I went with the title that seemed to be of interest to most practitioners, but the case actually touched on several issues, one of … Continue Reading

Third Circuit: Availability of Classwide Arbitration is an Issue for the Courts – Not Arbitrators – Unless the Parties Agreed Otherwise

By Joel Griswold on August 1, 2014 Posted in Arbitration, Collective Action, FLSA

Wednesday, the Third Circuit held that the determination of whether an agreement allows classwide arbitration is a question of arbitrability for the courts “unless the parties unmistakably provide otherwise.” Opalinski v. Robert Half International Inc., Case No. 12-4444 (3d Cir. July 30, 2014). In Opalinski, former Robert Half International, Inc. (RHI) employees filed a putative … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Upholds Employment Arbitration Agreement And Class Waiver

By Todd Dawson on June 25, 2014 Posted in Arbitration, NLRB

But Can The Good Guys Avoid A Last Second Goal In This Case? The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Johnmohammadi v. Bloomingdales, Inc., Case No. 12-55578 (9th Cir. June 23, 2014), should have employers feeling as good as the U.S. Men’s Soccer team up through the fourth minute of added time in the second half of … Continue Reading

Does D.R. Horton Apply Arbitration Agreements Without A Class Action Waiver?

By Greg Mersol on February 6, 2014 Posted in Arbitration, NLRB

Our sister blog, Employment Law Spotlight, recently reported on the decision of an NLRB administrative law judge regarding the legality of an arbitration agreement under D.R. Horton, Inc., 357 NLRB No. 184 (2012). We all know that D.R. Horton held that class action waivers in arbitration agreements might be unfair labor practices because of their … Continue Reading

Fifth Circuit Rejects NLRB’s D.R. Horton Decision – Too Soon For Champagne?

By John Lewis on December 4, 2013 Posted in Arbitration, NLRB

Co-Authored By: Todd A. Dawson Arbitration is quickly becoming a major vehicle to resolve individual employee disputes. Now another obstacle to enforcing those arbitration agreements and class action waivers may have been removed. The Fifth Circuit issued a 2-1 decision on Tuesday in which the court largely denied enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board’s … Continue Reading

California Appellate Court Orders Arbitration and Rules that Claims May Not Proceed On Behalf of a Class: Plaintiff in Macy’s OT Action Gets What She Bargained For

By Greg Mersol on January 31, 2013 Posted in Arbitration, Retail

Authored by: Dawn Kennedy A recent decision from a California court of appeals reflects a growing, if at times reluctant, acceptance by California courts of employment arbitration. In Outland v. Macy’s Department Stores, Inc., Case No. A133589 (Ct. Cal. App. Jan. 16, 2013) a former group sales manager for defendant Macy’s Department Stores filed a … Continue Reading

Pattern-or-Practice Claim Doesn’t Trump Arbitration Agreement – Karp v. CIGNA Healthcare Inc.

By John Lewis on April 23, 2012 Posted in Arbitration, Discrimination

Once again a court has been required to consider whether a federal statutory claim might limit the reach of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et. seq. (“FAA”), and prevent arbitration of an individual discrimination claim. This twenty-two-page decision reflects the on-going struggle by plaintiffs to discover potential exceptions to the U.S. Supreme … Continue Reading

Eighth Circuit Affirms Enforcement of Class Action Waivers and Explores Case Disposition Issues

By John Lewis on September 13, 2011 Posted in Arbitration, Class Certification, FLSA

In a terse but well-reasoned decision, the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the grant of a motion to compel arbitration and enforced a class action waiver despite arguments that it was unenforceable under Minnesota law. The Appellate panel also considered whether cases sent to arbitration should be stayed rather than dismissed. In Green v. SuperShuttle International, … Continue Reading

21 Club “Gets Served” On Overtime Class Claims

By Todd Dawson on August 23, 2010 Posted in Arbitration, Class Certification, FLSA, Overtime Claims, Tip-Pooling, Wage and Hour

“……and Please Remember to Tip Your Bartender And Waitress.” The famous 21 Club in New York was on the Curly end of a Larry-esque double-slap from the Southern District of New York last week. Alderman v. 21 Club.pdf Case No. 1:09-cv-2418 (Aug. 20, 2010). By way of background, the plaintiff employees in Alderman are seeking to … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Sets New Rules for Class Actions in Arbitration

By Greg Mersol on June 1, 2010 Posted in Arbitration

The Supreme Court has issued a set of decisions that may seriously affect the utility of arbitration in the employment context and may make arbitration an effective defense against employment class actions. On April 27, 2010, the Supreme Court decided the case of Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.pdf 2010 U.S. LEXIS 3672 (Apr. 27, 2010). The … Continue Reading