The first was filed in Indiana by Maurice Bradley, formerly an hourly worker in Menards’ manufacturing division. He alleges that Menards used a “compensation scheme” of requiring workers to clock out for any amount of time spent in breaks, including the mere minutes it takes to use the bathroom, get a drink of water, or smoke a cigarette. Menards would then subtract wages accordingly, violating …
Finally. The wait is almost over. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether an employer may enforce a mandatory arbitration agreement that contains a class action or collective action waiver. Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear 3 cases stemming from the NLRB’s 2012 decision in D.R. Horton , in which the NLRB held that class action waivers violate employees’ Section 7 rights to engage in protected, concerted activity. D.R. Horton created uncertainty whether, for example, an employer, through an arbitration agreement, may force an employee to waive his or her right to pursue a class action minimum wage or overtime claim, or a Title VII discrimination claim, in an arbitration proceeding. …
On Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule that would ban the use of mandatory arbitration clauses, which many banks and credit card companies insert into contracts to prohibit customers from filing class-action lawsuits against them. In the event a customer sues a company outside of small-claims court, the business can enforce these clauses to block a …
When clients enter their financial advisors’ offices and express frustrations about a retail bank’s mistakes or overcharges, the damages are usually too small to merit any individual legal action. “It’s $24 here and $45 there, and often there is very little you can do,” says Debra Brennan Tagg, managing director of Brennan Financial Services in Addison, Texas. But, it is expected that when the …
The U.S. government wants to make it easier for student loan borrowers to sue their colleges when they believe they’ve been wronged. The Department of Education released a proposal Friday evening that would make it more difficult for colleges to require students to settle disputes in arbitration, a private, closed-door process that critics say prevents students from getting a fair shake when …