Marshall Babson Quoted in Reuters
"Employee class actions okay, Concepcion doesn't apply: NLRB"

In a Reuters article that also cited Seyfarth's Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, partner Marshall Babson was quoted regarding the NLRB's ruling in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda, which held that last year's U.S. Supreme court Concepcion ruling doesn't apply to NLRB cases.
 
As noted in the Report, AT&T Mobility vs. Concepcion was cited in more that 215 cases last year, despite only being handed down in June. It held that AT&T could compel consumers to submit to arbitration, even though California law seemed to permit a consumer class action. In their ruling, the NLRB drew a distinction between consumer issues and labor laws, even when arbitration is a possibility.
 
"The NLRB is thumbing its nose at private arbitration agreements," said Marshall, who submitted an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. "The National Labor Relations Act is not intended to be a super-class-action statute."

Marshall went on to say the board's assurance that its ruling will have limited effect, since (unlike Concepcion) it applies only to employment arbitration agreements, is "breathtaking in its lack of understanding." At a minimum, he said, the ruling will affect tens of thousands of employees with no-class-action clauses in employment agreements that mandate arbitration. "Every guy on Wall Street signed one of these agreements," he said.

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