Catherwood LibraryILR School

Opening arguments in three consolidated cases involving professional services firm Ernst & Young, gas station operator Murphy Oil USA Inc., and healthcare software company Epic Systems Corporation came before the Supreme Court today, finding the expected division along conservative and liberal lines. Liberal justices defended the right of workers to bring class-action lawsuits against companies as a “driving force” behind a federal law enacted to regulate labor disputes, and that a ruling against employees would endanger “the entire heart of New Deal programming”. Class-action lawsuits can result in large damages awards by juries and are harder for businesses to fight; as a result, companies have increasingly required employees to sign class-action waivers in order to prevent an increasing number of worker lawsuits seeking unpaid wages, forcing employees into individual arbitration scenarios. Three justices, including typical swing vote Justice Kennedy, asked questions favoring employers, indicating that a loss for workers would not prevent them from joining together to hire the same lawyer to bring claims, even if arbitrated individually. The Trump administration, in the unusual position of squaring off with an independent agency of the federal government (NLRB), has sided with companies, contending that agreements requiring workers to arbitrate disputes with their employers individually is a valid, efficient and cost-effective alternative to class-action litigation. Two justices in the court’s conservative majority remained silent; Justice Clarence Thomas who doesn’t usually provide an opinion during opening arguments, and President Trump’s recent appointee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, who may become a key vote.