EHR Vendor Epic Nets Supreme Court Victory In Workers’ Arbitration Case
The court ruled that businesses can block employees from joining together to file claims for wage theft and other work-related violations. "The virtues Congress originally saw in arbitration, its speed and simplicity and inexpensiveness, would be shorn away and arbitration would wind up looking like the litigation it was meant to displace" if workers gathered their complaints under class action lawsuits, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court.
Modern Healthcare:
Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Epic In Arbitration Case
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that companies can prohibit workers from using class-action litigation to resolve workplace disputes, handing Epic Systems Corp. and other employers a win. In a 5-4 decision on three consolidated cases, the justices said companies can include clauses in employment contracts that require employees to use individual arbitration to resolve disputes. That decision could affect about 25 million employees. (Arndt, 5/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court Imposes Limits On Workers In Arbitration Cases
The decision, which overturns the position of the National Labor Relations Board and resolves a split among federal appeals courts, gives teeth to employment contracts drawn to minimize corporate exposure to public trials and class actions filed by their own employees. Tens of millions of employees currently work under contracts limiting redress to claims filed before a private arbitrator on an individualized basis. With the issue clarified, employers are expected to impose such limits on millions more. (Bravin, 5/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Supreme Court Arbitration Ruling Could Slow #MeToo Movement
As more employees feel empowered by the #MeToo movement to discuss workplace sexual harassment claims in public, some experts worry that Monday’s Supreme Court ruling could undermine that effort. Under the 5-4 ruling, employers can limit workers’ ability to band together in court to pursue redress for labor violations. (Thadani, 5/21)
In other news —
Stat:
Supreme Court Allows Lawsuit Over Eyedrop Bottles To Proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case in which consumers alleged drug makers caused them to waste money by designing prescription eyedrop bottles that dispense unnecessarily large drops. The decision, which was announced Monday morning, is a setback for several companies — including Allergan (AGN), Pfizer (PFE), and Novartis (NVS) — because they must now face a lawsuit in a federal district court in New Jersey. The drug makers had argued the consumers did not have proper legal standing, but an appeals court had ruled the consumers suffered economic injury and so they did have the right to press their case. (Silverman, 5/21)
