SCOTUS Adds 16 New Cases to Merits Docket (3 Arbitration)
By Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog, January 16, 2017
This post has been viewed 2,748 times.
The justices will also return to a familiar question: To what extent can agreements to arbitrate disputes foreclose later efforts to resolve those disputes through litigation? In National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, and Epic Systems v. Lewis, the justices agreed to decide whether agreements to forgo class actions or collective proceedings and instead resolve employer-employee disputes through individual arbitration are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act. The federal government argues that they are not, because the National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ ability to engage in protected concerted activities – that is, action by two or more workers for their mutual aid or protection regarding terms or conditions of employment. The justices granted all three petitions and consolidated the cases for one hour of oral argument.
