Originally published on the Employer's Law Blog
The National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) recently ruled that employers may not require that employees, as a condition of their employment, sign arbitration agreements waiving their ability to assert class-actions in any forum.
In D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda, the NLRB declined to apply the United States' Supreme Court's holding in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion -- which approved the inclusion of class-action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements -- to workplace arbitration agreements. The NLRB held that "employers may not compel employees to waive their [National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)] right to collectively pursue litigation of employment claims in all forums, arbital and judicial." The NLRB went on to explain that "[s]o long as the employer leaves open a judicial forum for class and collective claims, employee's NLRA rights are preserved without requiring the availability of classwide arbitration." Therefore, "[e]mployers remain free to insist that arbitral proceedings be conducted on an individual basis."
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