Drafting Employee Arbitration Agreements After Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal | November 1, 2018
Phillip Ciano & Sarah E. Katz
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that mandatory arbitration clauses which simultaneously waive class or collective proceedings do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612, (2018). In Epic Systems, the SCOTUS considered whether the NLRA prohibits enforcement of employment agreements requiring employees to resolve employment disputes through individual, “bilateral” arbitration under the FAA. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the NLRA “does not mention class or collective procedures” and thus cannot be read to displace the FAA.
