Connecticut Employment Law Blog Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

Tag Archives: class action

Class Action Waiver For Employment? Not So Fast, Says the NLRB

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Labor Law & NRLB

Last year, I talked a lot about a U.S. Supreme Court case that seemed to open the door for employers to use mandatory arbitration agreements that precluded employees from using class actions to sue their employers.  But I noted at the time that this was a quickly shifting landscape. A few days ago, the NLRB… Continue Reading

The End of the Mega-Class Action Era?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

In this week’s Connecticut Law Tribune Labor & Employment Law Supplement, I penned a piece about the impact of the new U.S. Supreme Court cases from this past term. My conclusions? It is premature to announce the death of wage and hour class actions. But the cases suggest a different future for those types of… Continue Reading

Court: Class-wide Arbitration May Be Allowed, Even if Agreement Is Silent

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance

Earlier this month, the Second Circuit (Jock v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc.) affirmed an arbitrator’s decision, concluding that the arbitrator’s analysis should be upheld even if the District Court disagreed with the legal analysis. Such a decision is entitled to “substantial deference”. The case rests on the principle that arbitrations are not going to be going… Continue Reading

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: What The Class-Action Decision Really Means for Employers

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Featured, Highlight, Litigation

Over the last 24 hours, there’s been a lot written about the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes.  Frankly, all of them are starting to say the same thing:  The decision is going to hamper all class-action discrimination cases going forward. But that statement tends to simplify the decision a bit too… Continue Reading

BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Class Action Against Wal-Mart

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Back in March, I reported on the likelihood of a victory for Wal-Mart in an important class action case up at the U.S. Supreme Court. This morning, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the class action against the nation’s largest employer, saying, in essence, that the women who were bringing the sex discrimination charges would have… Continue Reading

The Quickly Shifting Landscape of Class Actions and Arbtirations

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

Now that the dust has settled a bit, it’s time to look at the long-term impact of last month’s Supreme Court decision in AT&T v. Concepcion for employment matters.  (For a great analysis of the decision itself, see this SCOTUSblog post.)  All the analysis that has been coming out seems to suggest that there are two main… Continue Reading

Are Some Employment Law Class Actions in Jeopardy? New Supreme Court Case Suggests Path

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation, Wage & Hour

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision,  yesterday held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state laws that discuss or limit arbitration agreements on the availability of class action arbitration procedures.  The case, AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (download here) isn’t an employment law case (it concerns whether AT&T should have charged consumers sales tax on… Continue Reading

The Strong Pull of a “Day in Court”; Lessons Learned from Wal-Mart v. Dukes

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions

Nearly everyone has chimed in over the oral argument in Wal-mart v. Dukes over the last 36 hours up at the Supreme Court.  And nearly everyone seems to be predicting an outright victory to Wal-mart.  Because we don’t even have a decision yet, I’ll leave it to others to prognosticate (read: guess) what will really… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: Wage & Hour Litigation; Protected Concerted Activity; Set-Off in Mass.; Prevailing Wage; I-9s

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Wage & Hour

With all the snow piling up, there’s been a lot I’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t. So, it’s time to bring back the "Quick Hits" feature where I recap some of the employment law tidbits you might have missed recently. The Wage & Hour Litigation blog (a new employment law blog, so welcome),… Continue Reading

Breaking: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Wal-Mart Class Action Case

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning agreed to hear Wal-Mart’s appeal of a decision that granted certification to what would be the largest employment discrimination class action case ever heard in the United States.  The SCOTUSBlog has the definitive wrapup here.  The underlying case has raised allegations of sex discrimination by current and female workers… Continue Reading

Court Upholds Arbitration Agreement; Says Employee Can Waive FLSA Collective Actions

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

Employers who have shunned using arbitration agreements for fear that they will be overturned, will want to take a look at a recent federal court decision that upheld an arbitration agreement that had provisions that some would consider very pro-employer. In Pomposi v. GameStop, Inc. (download here),  the employer moved to dismiss a collective action… Continue Reading

Connecticut Supreme Court: Order Denying Class Certification in Minimum Wage Case Is Not Immediately Appealable

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

The Connecticut Supreme Court, in a decision released today, ruled today that an order denying class certification is not an appealable final judgment.  The case, Palmer v. Friendly Ice Cream Corporation, gives employers and other defendants in class actions, an important arrow in their quiver of defending against class action cases.  In Palmer, thirty-seven waiters or waitresses employed by Friendly’s,… Continue Reading

“Wage Wars” – Business Week’s Analysis of Overtime Lawsuits

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & Hour

For employment lawyers and HR professionals, it’s "old" news that overtime lawsuits are a major concern.  Business Week picks up on that trend in next week’s Cover Story entitled: "Wage Wars: Does your Boss Owe You Overtime".  According to the article: No one tracks precise figures, but lawyers on both sides estimate that over the… Continue Reading