The employment attorneys at Morgan and Morgan are pleased to announce that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda that class or collective action bans in the workplace unlawfully restrict employees’ rights under federal labor law. The NLRB concluded that Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which provides employees the right to engage in concerted activity, trumps any arbitration agreement barring employees from filing collective or class actions. Essentially, the decision has placed a ban on arbitration agreements requiring that employees bring their legal claims individually through arbitration, rather than through a group action.
Richard Celler and Carlos Leach, two leading attorneys in Morgan and Morgan’s
wage and hour division, represented Mr. Cuda, who sought to file a class action alleging that that the home building company misclassified its superintendents as exempt from
overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As a condition of his employment, Mr. Cuda signed a waiver mandating that all disputes be resolved individually through arbitration and could not be pursued on a class or collective action basis. When Mr. Cuda attempted to initiate a nationwide class action, the company cited a portion of this agreement in its refusal to arbitrate the claims collectively. Mr. Cuda then filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, contending that the agreement violated the employees’ rights under Section 7 of the NLRA, resulting in the issuance of a complaint against his employer. On Jan. 3, 2011, an administrative law judge refused to find that the waiver’s ban on collective and class actions violated the NLRA, a decision which was subject to review by the NLRB.
In July 2011, the National Employment Lawyers Association and Public Justice, P.C., with the assistance and support of Morgan and Morgan, filed an amici curiae brief arguing that bans on collective and class actions violate workers’ rights under Section 7 of the NLRA. The case became one to watch, as the Supreme Court had recently ruled in favor of arbitration agreements containing class action waivers in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. The NLRB reasoned that this case pertained to consumer class actions, whereas Mr. Cuda’s claim involved workplace rights provided under the NLRA.
In finding that employers cannot prevent their workers from bringing class or collective actions, the NLRB’s decision is expected to anger many companies across the country. The ruling applies to non-management employees in the private sector, both union and non-union, and is wholeheartedly supported by the employment lawyers at Morgan and Morgan who first brought Mr. Cuda’s
overtime claim to light. If you suspect your employment rights have been violated, in relation to this ruling or any other provision of employment law, the attorneys at Morgan and Morgan would like to hear from you. Visit ForThePeople.com today for more information on your employment rights and a free evaluation of your claim.
About Morgan and Morgan
Morgan and Morgan is one of the largest plaintiffs’ firms in the country with multiple office locations throughout Florida and the Southeast. The firm has a department solely devoted to helping employees in disputes with their employers, and also handles auto accident cases, personal injury cases, product liability cases and medical malpractice cases. Visit Morgan and Morgan online at http://www.forthepeople.com/ for a free case evaluation and information about your legal rights.
