Earlier this month, in Smith v. Spizzirri, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires district courts to stay a lawsuit pending arbitration when asked by a party to do so, and that district courts lack the inherent authority to instead dismiss such...
By Gregory Feit Our firm previously reported on the passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (EFAA) (codified at 9 U.S.C. §§ 401-02), which amended the Federal Arbitration Act. Broadly speaking, the EFAA prohibits the compulsory enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration agreements with...
In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., No. 21-328, 2022 WL 1611788 (U.S. May 23, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts, in analyzing a claim that a party has waived the right to arbitrate a dispute under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), should not impose a requirement of prejudice....
The Senate today, acting on a bipartisan basis, passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which prohibits employers from requiring employees to arbitrate claims of sexual assault or harassment. The bill was approved earlier this week by a large bipartisan majority in the House of...
In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, has affirmed its long-standing support for permitting businesses to enforce mandatory arbitration provisions with their customers and employees, and to avoid any class determination of claims. The decision is not a sea change in the law...
In an important employment and labor law decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that employment agreements waiving class action claims and requiring employees to arbitrate claims on an individual basis are enforceable. Justice Gorsuch, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas and Alito, wrote for the majority...