Courts have struggled to uniformly decide whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate because of a person’s “sex,” protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or transgender status. Specifically, courts have not consistently interpreted Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of . […]
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 […]
On June 3, 2019, the United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) unanimously held in Fort Bend County v. Davis that federal courts may be able to hear claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) without the complainants having first brought their claims to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]
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 […]
In the 27 right to work states, currently in the country, union nonmembers may not be required to pay fees to private sector unions as a condition to obtain or retain employment. In the rest of the states – union security states – private sector unions and employers may enter into agreements that require nonmembers to […]
In a unanimous opinion, with Justice Ginsburg concurring, the U.S. Supreme Court held that an exemption under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) applies to contracts with independent contractors. The FAA generally requires courts to enforce private arbitration agreements. But the FAA has exemptions, including “contracts of employment of . . . workers engaged in foreign […]
In Janus v AFSCME , U.S. No. 16-1466, the Supreme Court held on June 27, 2018 that States and public sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from non-consenting employees. Such extractions violate the employees’ First Amendment right to free speech. The decision, delivered by Justice Alito and joined by Justices Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas […]
In 1974 the United States Supreme Court in American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah held that the timely filing of a class action tolls the applicable statute of limitations for all persons encompassed by the class complaint. This holding was clarified in 1983 in Crown, Cork & Seal Co. v. Parker to provide that […]
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 […]
In this week’s L&E Legal Alert, Jennifer Yee and Josh Woodard take a deeper dive into the Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro where the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the longstanding principle that courts construe FLSA exemptions narrowly and, instead, adopted a “fair reading” standard. For more information, see here.
