Labor & Employment Law

Supreme Court: Can union waive individual's right to sue?

US Supreme Court will hear case on union's waiver of court forum for statutory claim.

14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett (Certiorari granted February 19, 2008) [Details, briefs]

When employees sued claiming age discrimination, the employer filed a motion to compel them to take the case to arbitration. The employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement which prohibited age discrimination and also said "All such claims shall be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure [in the collective bargaining agreement] as the sole and exclusive remedy for violations." The trial court denied the motion to compel arbitration, and the 2nd Circuit affirmed. The 2nd Circuit held that "arbitration provisions contained in a [collective bargaining agreement], which purport to waive employees' rights to a federal forum with respect to statutory claims, are unenforceable."

See discussion of this case at Daily Developments in EEO Law and at ADR Prof Blog: Supreme Court hears third arbitration case this term: 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett and at Workplace Prof Blog: Supreme Court Certs

Full post as published by Arbitration Blog on February 19, 2008 (boomark / email).