National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb has expressed strong recommendations to give employees access to collect more damages after an arbitration or settlement. This is a stark departure from the otherwise pro-employer and red-tape cutting expectations of the Trump Administration. Currently, employers cannot use an arbitration agreement or settlement agreement to prevent an…

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will soon rule on whether employees can waive their right to join class-action lawsuits. Unions (and the pro-union NLRB) have argued for the past few years that these waivers violate an employee’s right to “collective action” against employers. Employers, on the other hand, argue that all disputes…

An NLRB Administrative Law Judge issued a decision against a Domino’s franchisee for violating the National Labor Relations Act. The franchisee required employees, as a condition of employment, to agree to pursue legal disputes with the restaurant owners in binding arbitration on an individual basis. Thus, the employees waived their rights to pursue class and…

Arbitration agreements are a useful tool for employers, but companies must be mindful of the Board’s evolving interpretation of what constitutes a lawful arbitration agreement. Employers Resource, a payroll and personnel services provider, performed human resources functions for a restaurant. Employers Resource gave a restaurant employee an arbitration agreement containing a mandatory arbitration provision. The…

Relying on the controversial D.R. Horton case, the NLRB ruled that gas station chain Murphy Oil’s arbitration agreements barring employees from pursuing class actions were unlawful. Three pro-Union Board Members ruled that the gas station violated the law by requiring employees to resolve employment claims in individual arbitration and seeking to enforce its agreements in…

The National Labor Relations Board recently found the arbitration agreements of three companies unlawful. A clothing store, grocery chain, and limousine company each had their arbitration agreements axed by the Board for prohibiting employees from acting concertedly against their employer. Specifically, clothing store Ross Stores required employees to agree to the arbitration policy that required…