New York Judge Orders Arbitration Despite Waiver of Collective Action

Rejecting the views of the National Labor Relations Board and one of her colleagues on the bench, Judge Barbara Jones of the Southern District of New York has ruled that employees subject to arbitration agreements may be required to arbitrate FLSA claims, even though the agreements do not permit the claims to be pursued on a collective basis.

In LaVoice v. UBS Financial Services, Inc., Judge Jones granted the employer’s motion to compel individual arbitration of a former Financial Advisor’s claims for unpaid overtime.  Although the plaintiff argued that he must be permitted to assert his claims collectively, the court held otherwise, finding the argument precluded by the Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion.

To read this blog post click here