Arbitration Agreement Included Alabama Choice Of Law Provision. Alabama State Flag. When former employees, who were hired as temporary claim adjusters, sued the insurance company that had hired them in a class action complaint alleging various employment violations, the California trial court agreed that the arbitration agreement was unconscionable. Analyzing the trial court's order under […]
The Issue: Do Employee Agreements To Waive Class Actions And Arbitrate Violate The Right Of Employees To Engage In Collective Action Under The National Labor Relations Act? Amy Howe reports on June 19, 2017, in SCOTUSBlog, that the Office of the Solicitor General, after the change of administration, has done a volte-face in a […]
Where Statutory Violations Are Alleged, Presumption Of Arbitrability Applying To Contractual Disputes Arising Out Of A Collective Bargaining Agreement Does Not Apply. Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) are a different animal requiring close scrutiny when the question of arbitrability arises in an employment dispute. In Vasserman v. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, No. B267975 (2/4 2/7/17) […]
Panel Rejects Employee’s Arguments That Six Provisions Are Unconscionable, Requires Severance Of “Judicial Carve-Out” Provision, And Punts On “Reaffirmation Clause” Provision. Poublon v. C.H. Robinson Company, et al., No. 15-55143 (9th Cir. 2/3/17) (Ikuta, Callahan, Bea) is an opinion that employers will likely cite when arguing against employee claims that an arbitration clause is substantively […]
Just Because There Is An Arbitration Provision, Don’t Take The Existence Of An Arbitration Agreement For Granted . . . The mere existence of a contractual provision requiring arbitration does not mean that the parties have established the existence of an agreement to arbitrate the claims between the parties. At a minimum, a checklist […]
Limitations On Discovery Did Not Make Arbitration Unconscionable, Because The Limitations Applied Equally. A vintage downtown beauty parlor, part of the Ackley Heritage Center that also includes an old-time soda fountain as well as prairie houses and farm buildings on the outskirts of town in Ackley, Iowa. 2016. Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Library of […]
The Circuits Disagree About Class Action Waivers In Arbitration, The NLRA, And Prohibition Of “Concerted Activities” In Pursuit Of Employees’ “Mutual Aid Or Protection”. On October 11, 2016, I blogged that on September 8, a petition for a writ of certiorari had been filed by the accounting firm in Morris v. Ernst & […]
On August 23, 2016, I blogged that the issue in Morris v. Ernst & Young was clearly framed by the majority and minority opinions, and almost certainly headed for Supreme Court Review. In that Ninth Circuit case, the majority held that an employer violates sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor Relations […]
Jost On Justice Poses The Question. In his August 28, 2016 post, Prof. Kenneth Jost suggests, as I did in my August 23, 2016 post about Morris v. Ernst & Young, that the split among the circuits concerning the enforceability of employment contract clauses requiring disputes to be resolved through individual arbitration is likely […]
Language In The Employee Handbook Undercut The Existence Of An Agreement To Arbitrate. When January Esparza sued her employer for sexual harassment and related causes of action, the employer petitioned to compel arbitration, based on the fact that Esparza had acknowledged receipt of an employee handbook, and the handbook mentioned that the employer’s […]