In early October, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three consolidated cases addressing the issue of whether class action waivers in individual arbitration agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act (see Oral Argument in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis: Class Action Waivers in Employment Agreements.)
The commentary on the oral argument has been voluminous, leaning perhaps towards a sense that the news might not be good for employees (see for example, Alison Frankel, In SCOTUS class waiver case, DOJ, employers say don’t trust the NLRB).
We will know for sure where the Court stands in the next few months. In the meantime, Arbitrator and NAA member Lise Gelernter, shares with us a helpful analysis of the law of class action arbitration. See Treatment of Class Actions in Arbitration under the FAA and LMRA.
For prior posts on this topic, see here.