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It’s Official: The “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act” Is Now Law

As anticipated, President Joe Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“the Act”) today. Effective immediately, the Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act and limits the enforceability of U.S. employers’ mandatory arbitration agreements that require all employment-related claims be arbitrated, rather than litigated. We discussed here the Act’s carve-out for […]

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Of Counsel

Claims of Sexual Misconduct Can No Longer Be Forced Into Mandatory Arbitration

The majority of U.S. employers have elected to adopt the use of mandatory arbitration agreements, requiring that all employment-related claims be arbitrated and not litigated.  Pursuant to a series of landmark United States Supreme Court decisions, such mandatory arbitration agreements are permissible and enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.  Most such agreements contain class action […]

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Of Counsel

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Changes Its Internal Procedures For Selecting Which Cases To Litigate

At the conclusion of the EEOC’s administrative process, if a discrimination Charge has not otherwise been resolved, the Agency issues an administrative decision finding either merit to the Charge or not.  If the Agency concludes that the Charge has merit, then by statute it must engage in formal Conciliation with the Respondent/Employer in an effort […]

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Of Counsel

Pregnancy Likely to Be Added to Short List of Required Employment Accommodation

Most federal and state employment discrimination laws prohibit any kind of adverse personnel action based upon any of the enumerated protected categories, e.g., race, sex, national origin, age, etc.  Currently, only two federal discrimination laws go further and, not only prohibit discrimination, but also require covered employers to take affirmative steps to provide workers with […]

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Of Counsel

COVID-19: Employment Squalls Likely to Hit Employers

Many employers have opened for business and now hope for much-needed smooth sailing. As they chart their course for open and calm waters, however, employers would be well-served to keep their spyglasses focused on the horizon’s rough seas. Click here to continue reading.

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Of Counsel

Arizona’s Seldom Discussed Statutory Prohibition of Arbitration Agreements Between Employers and Employees

There has been much publicity recently regarding a series of states enacting state statutes intended to restrict or prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements in the employment context. The most recent such endeavor to be highly publicized is California’s A.B. 51, which arguably prohibits employers from making arbitration agreements a condition of offered or continued employment. As […]

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Of Counsel

EEOC Changes Policy on Mandatory Arbitration

This past week, the EEOC withdrew its 1997 policy statement regarding mandatory binding arbitration agreements. In that policy statement, the EEOC took the position that the use of mandatory binding arbitration agreements as a condition of employment were contrary to the fundamental principles of the federal anti-discrimination statutes, including the right to pursue discrimination claims […]

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Of Counsel

United States Supreme Court Continues Its Trend of Enforcing Individual Employment Arbitration Agreements

Approximately one year ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, 548 U.S. ___ (2018), holding that class action waivers contained in arbitration agreements, including agreements between employers and their employees, are permissible and enforceable. See here. That decision left open, however, the question of: what if the arbitration […]

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Of Counsel

Could a single, nationwide paid sick leave law become a reality and cure a multi-jurisdictional employer’s woes? Maybe.

In light of the ever-growing number of states and local governments mandating paid sick leave requirements for private employers, some federal paid sick leave bills have been proposed. Some proponents have called for federal intervention to alleviate multijurisdictional employers from having to comply with a myriad of State and local laws – which are often different […]

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Of Counsel

Supreme Court Blesses Employers’ Use of Class Action Waivers

As previously reported on October 13, 2017, see here, the Federal Courts of Appeal were evenly divided on the question of whether class action waivers contained in otherwise enforceable employment arbitration agreements were permissible.  Three Courts of Appeal, i.e., the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, had accepted the position advocated by the National Labor Relations […]

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Of Counsel