Supreme Court To Consider Lifting Class-Action Bar For Millions Of Workers Existing federal labor la
Source: Huffington Post
Supreme Court To Consider Lifting Class-Action Bar For Millions Of Workers
Existing federal labor law could free employees who now can’t band together to sue their bosses.
01/13/2017 07:59 pm ET
Cristian Farias
Legal Affairs Reporter, The Huffington Post
If you’re one of the likely millions of workers who are contractually bound to go it alone in a legal fight with your employer, the Supreme Court may lift that barrier and allow you to take your boss to court along with other workers.
The justices on Friday agreed to hear three cases that, taken together, could relieve workers of so-called class-action waivers: contract provisions that prohibit workers from suing as a group over workplace violations, leaving them instead to arbitrate grievances on their own.
For years, courts have upheld these mandatory arbitration provisions under settled freedom-of-contract principles. But the National Labor Relations Board has been pushing the law in the other direction — relying on federal labor law to allow workers to sue collectively or as a class.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, the board has ruled and is now arguing before the Supreme Court that workers have a right to “concerted activities” for their “mutual aid or protection,” and that includes their right to band together in a legal action against employers. Which means the class-action waivers are unenforceable and cannot be used to tie workers’ hands.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supreme-court-labor-class-action_us_58792df2e4b09281d0eac66c?section=us_politics
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