Back in 2016, I noted that Congress had a major problem passing major legislation.  Of course, at the start of the pandemic, it passed paid COVID leave and related legislation but other than that, it’s been a LONG time since it passed anything significant.

But surprise!

Yesterday, the Senate joined the House in passing H.R.

One of the interesting strains to come out of the new round of publicity surrounding sexual harassment is a renewed focus on mandatory arbitration provisions.

And it comes from an unexpected source: former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson.

Indeed, Carlson recently gave an interview with former ESPN producer and self-titled “Commander-in-She” Valerie Gordon that

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (which does not include Connecticut) held on Tuesday that the NLRB erred in disallowing an employer’s mandatory arbitration agreement that waived the rights of employees to participate in class actions.

The decision in D.R. Horton v. NLRB (download here from Bloomberg Law)

Lost in the shuffle of the COBRA subsidy extension have been new restrictions that prohibit some defense contractors from using mandatory arbitration provisions with their employees.

The Washington Employment Law Update does an excellent job at recapping the relevant provisions and points out that there will be new certification requirements for such contractors in mid