Fifth Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Employers’ Stand-Alone Class-Action Waiver Case

Originally published by Beth Graham.

For years, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has maintained that a class-action waiver included in an employer’s arbitration agreement is enforceable.  Today, the appellate court will hear oral argument regarding whether such a waiver is valid and enforceable when it is not part of an agreement to arbitrate.  In Convergys Corp. vs. National Labor Relations Board, No. 15-60860, two companies, Convergys Corp. and LogistiCare Solutions, appeal from separate National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decisions that invalidated each company’s mandatory stand-alone collective action waiver.  According to the companies, the waivers should be enforced based on the appeals court’s 2013 decision in D.R. Horton. In contrast, the NLRB counters that prior Fifth Circuit case law upholding such waivers relied on the federal policy favoring arbitration and claims the stand-alone class waiver violates the National Labor Relations Act.

It will be interesting to see how the Fifth Circuit ultimately decides this case!

Photo credit: David Blackwell. via Foter.com / CC BY-ND

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