SCOTUS finally delivered its decision today in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the consolidated case that addresses whether employers can require employees to give up their right to class or consolidated litigation as part of an arbitration agreement. In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Gorsuch, the Court found that class action waivers are
Six Arbitration Trends In 2017 (6th Blogiversary Post)
This is my 290th post at ArbitrationNation and today I celebrate six years of blogging. Woo hoo — that’s longer than most celebrity marriages! In honor of the occasion, here are updates on six of the hottest issues in arbitration law so far this year.
- Agency regulation of arbitration agreements. On the one hand, the
New Administration Dismantles More Of Obama Arbitration Regulations
It was only a few weeks ago that this blog covered the reversal of the CMS regulation on arbitration in nursing homes. Now, the Trump Administration has altered course on two other issues of arbitration policy.
First, the Department of Education has “delayed until further notice” its ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreements. That regulation was
Sixth Circuit Adds to a Growing Circuit Split; SCOTUS to Decide Scope of Employees' Arbitration Rights
In National Labor Relations Board v. Alternative Entertainment, Inc., No. 16-1385, 2017 WL 2297620 (6th Cir. May 26, 2017), the Sixth Circuit joined the Seventh and Ninth Circuits in upholding the NLRB’s decision that barring an employee from pursuing class action or collective claims violates the NLRA. Already lined up on the other side
Kardashians Kept Out of Arbitration (and other recent arbitration news)
Just three weeks into the year and already my pile of arbitration cases is a skyscraper! So, I will cover a lot of ground in this update.
First, the headline. Kimberly, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian moved to compel arbitration, although they were not signatories to the arbitration agreement. Kroma Makeup EU v. Boldface Licensing +
Out On A Limb, 7th Circuit Creates Circuit Split Over Class Arbitration For Employees
Of all the federal circuit courts, I was not expecting the 7th Circuit to venture out on a limb to support the NLRB’s interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as precluding class arbitration waivers. After all, the 7th Circuit gets affirmed more than other circuit courts by SCOTUS, earning it a reputation for
2015: Arbitration Inches Toward Center Stage
Arbitration case law did not break any new ground in 2015. Instead, a larger sector of the public became aware of the ground already broken in 2011 and 2013, as well as how common arbitration is in professional sports.
Let’s review some of the attention-grabbing arbitration headlines of 2015. There was:
- That time in February
Same Arbitration Story, Different Jurisdiction: NAF, NLRB, and Nursing Homes
Some arbitration topics just never die. This post strings together new cases on three of those topics: 1) whether arbitration agreements that call for the now-defunct National Arbitration Forum (NAF) are enforceable; 2) formation fights in nursing home agreements; and 3) the continuing fight between the NLRB and the courts over class action waivers in
Arbitration Puzzler: Nevada's Anti-Waiver Rule Preempted; California's Anti-Waiver Rule Not Preempted
Two opinions came out recently in disputes over the arbitrability of putative class actions alleging that employees were not paid for overtime (and other labor violations). In one, the Nevada Supreme Court acknowledged that its 2011 ruling, finding class action waivers in arbitration were unconscionable, is preempted. In the second, the Ninth Circuit found
New Survey Dispels Common Myths About Arbitration
Did you know that 87% of experienced arbitrators report *always* trying to follow applicable law in rendering an award? That will come as a surprise to many critics who like to complain that arbitrators do not adhere to established law.
The statistic comes from a survey that Prof. Thomas Stipanowich of Pepperdine University School of