Labor & Employment Developments Blog

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday (12/9) in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., an anti-trust case.  The case is of interest to employment law practitioners because the issue under consideration is whether class arbitration may be imposed when that issue is not addressed in the parties’ arbitration clauses.  The Second Circuit ruled that construing the arbitration clause to permit class arbitration “did not manifestly disregard the law” because the parties specifically agreed that the arbitration panel would decide on the scope of the clause and, therefore, the panel did not exceed its authority.  This case could have far reaching implications in the employment law area.  We will update you when a decision is issued in the case.