Class Action Blog

Justice Gorsuch held that employment agreement class or collective action waivers in arbitration clauses are enforceable notwithstanding the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). He stated the issues were: “Should employees and employers be allowed to agree that any disputes between them will be resolved through one-on-one arbitration? Or should employees always be permitted to bring their claims in class or collective actions, no matter what they agreed with their employers?” After acknowledging that the issues “are surely debatable,” he held that the conclusion was clear “as a matter of law.” The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires federal courts “to enforce arbitration agreements according to their terms—including terms providing for individualized proceedings.” In reaching that conclusion, Justice Gorsuch specifically held that the NLRA did not render these specific class and collective action waivers “illegal” and thus unenforceable. He interpreted the FAA as “a congressional command requiring us to enforce, not override, the terms of the arbitration agreements before us.”