In an eagerly anticipated decision, last Friday the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its decision in Sutherland v. Ernst & Young. Applying the Supreme Court’s recent holding in American Express v. Italian Colors, the Court held that plaintiff Sutherland is obligated to pursue her claims for wage claims
arbitration agreement
Supreme Court Upholds Mandatory Individualized Arbitration
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday reaffirmed and expanded upon its prior rulings concerning arbitration agreements which require the parties to waive any rights they may have to participate in a class action. In Am. Express Co. v. Italian Colors Rest., 2013 U.S. LEXIS 4700 (U.S. June 20, 2013), the Supreme Court ruled that an…
Oxygen Network and Parent NBC Succeed in Compelling Arbitration of Class Wage Claims
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Litigation
With the policy behind arbitration embodied in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) reinforced by a series of Supreme Court decisions (Stolt-Nielsen (2010); Concepcion (2011) and Greenwood (2012)), employers continue to implement mandatory arbitration programs under the FAA. Among the many reasons to consider implementation of such a program is the utility of a class/collective action…
Eighth Circuit Rejects D.R. Horton and Other Arguments, Upholds Class/Collective Action Waiver Contained in Arbitration Agreement
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Class Actions
The issue of the enforceability of an employee’s agreement to arbitrate disputes with his or her employer on solely an individual basis and related waiver of the right to proceed in a representative capacity (i.e., class or collective action basis) continues to wend its way through to the higher courts. Ultimately, this issue…
Connecticut District Court Upholds Collective Actions Waivers, Orders Individual Arbitrations
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Class Actions
While courts continue to issue varied rulings regarding the appropriateness of collective action certification in FLSA litigations, employers continue to attempt to limit exposure to such broad allegations through several mechanisms. One of these strategies is inclusion of class/collective waiver provisions in arbitration, employment or separation agreements. Such provisions bar initiation and participation in class or collective…
Federal Court Upholds Collective Action Waiver in Arbitration Agreement
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Class Actions
As the surge of wage and hour collective actions continues, one strategy utilized by employers to avoid such multi-plaintiff litigations is the use of arbitration agreements with class/collective action waivers. In essence, such provisions mandate that an employee arbitrate any wage and hour and other (subject to certain limitations) disputes on an individual basis. Arbitration…
Another New York Federal Court Compels Arbitration of Individual Claims
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Class Actions
In the Second Circuit, employees generally can waive their right to bring a class or collective action as long as the cost of arbitrating the case on an individual basis is not cost-prohibitive and does not “remov[e] the plaintiff’s only reasonably feasible means of recovery.” See In Re American Express Merchants’ Litigation, 554 F.3d…