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U.S. Supreme Court Approves Employer-Mandated Arbitration Agreements with Class-Action Waivers

In an important victory for employers, on May 21, 2018 the United States Supreme Court ruled that employers may lawfully require employees to enter into arbitration agreements with class action waivers.  The Court in Epic Systems v. Lewis struck down a series of decisions by the Obama-era National Labor Relations Board that prohibited employers from requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements containing class action waivers.  The NLRB had held that employees taking part in class actions were engaged in “concerted activity” protected by the National Labor Relations Act.  The high court disagreed, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act governed arbitration agreements and required that the agreements be enforced according to their terms. More>>