Wage Law

ACI is presenting its 18th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions in May 2013 in New York, NY. The conference takes place at One UN New York on May 31 and 31. Here is a synopsis of the conference:

The wage and hour landscape continues to evolve at a blistering pace, with the potential for damaging claims at an all-time high. That is why it is essential that defense counsel be fully prepared for the coming tidal wave of claims and class actions. Come join your colleagues and clients at the nation’s premier wage and hour defense forum and hone the skills and strategies needed to keep pace with this rapidly changing area of law, defend against new and innovative claims, and prepare for emerging regulations and evolving enforcement priorities.

American Conference Institute’s 18th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions will provide you with an unparalleled opportunity to convene with expert in-house counsel from Walmart, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Microsoft, Home Depot, U.S. Bank, Dow Jones & Co., American Airlines, Darden Restaurants, Covidien, Cisco Systems, Wells Fargo, Marsh & McLennan, RBS, Kaplan, IBM, The Hartford, DIRECTV, Family Dollar Stores, TIAA-CREF, Reed Elsevier, and AXA Equitable, as well as renowned federal and state judges, top government officials, and leading outside defense counsel from around the nation, who will provide you with expert advice, insider strategies, and comprehensive updates on:

• Assessing the impact of Wal-Mart v. Dukes and its progeny on FLSA collective actions, Rule 23 class actions, and hybrid cases
• Obtaining decertification of a class at different stages of the litigation process
• Overcoming the complexities of managing and defending against multidistrict litigation
• Managing and defending against the latest claims from the plaintiffs’ bar

We've been to this seminar before, and it was a valuable experience. It's good for a minimum of 7.75 hours of California MCLE credits, plus another 2 hours for each focus session.

The list of topics and speakers is impressive. A complete brochure can be downloaded here. If we're not in trial, we'll see you there.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, an arbitration class action waiver case from the Second Circuit that could expand or reduce the scope of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct.1740 (2011). The Circuit Court decision can be read here.

The issue presented on review is:

Whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits courts, invoking the “federal substantive law of arbitrability,” to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground that they do not permit class arbitration of a federal-law claim.

In Green Tree Financial v. Randolph, 531 U.S. 79, 90 (2000), the SCOTUS implied that plaintiffs shouldn’t have to arbitrate if they could prove that they could not effectively vindicate their federal statutory rights in the arbitral forum. A decade later, in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., 130 S. Ct. 1758 (2010) , the SCOTUS held that the Federal Arbitration Act prohibits arbitrators from imposing class arbitration on parties that have not agreed to such procedures. A year after that, in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740 (2011) , the SCOTUS held that the FAA preempts state laws invalidating commercial arbitration agreements on the ground that they forbid class arbitration. However, AT&T Mobility addressed unconscionability principles under state law, within the scope of Section 2 preemption, so it did not address the vindication of rights doctrine, which is a federal common law doctrine. Now, the SCOTUS addresses this issue in American Express

The Second Circuit held that the American Express class action waiver was unenforceable because its effect would be to prevent the plaintiffs from effectively vindicating their statutory rights plaintiffs, notwithstanding the holdings in Stolt-Nielsen or AT&T Mobility.

It is usually difficult to predict where a majority of justices stand based on the questions they pose during oral argument, but if you enjoy doing so, you can read the transcript here. We suspect that the vote will be 5-3 to overturn the Second Circuit (Justice Sotomayor recused herself because she sat on the Second Circuit panel that issued one of the earlier rulings). If we are right, companies will be able to effectively give themselves contractual immunity from liability for violating even important statutory rights on a large scale, as long as each individual's damages aren't large enough to warrant hiring a lawyer.