The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against a fitness center in San Francisco. In the complaint, the Board takes issue with the center’s employee arbitration agreement. When hired by the center, employees receive a handbook indicating that they have 30 days to affirmatively opt-out of an implicit agreement to arbitrate any legal claim against the center. The NLRB alleges that this practice violates federal labor law because it denies workers the right to bring certain legal actions against the employer.

Specifically, the Board believes the center’s arbitration policy is coercive in that it hinders employees’ ability to sue the center as a class. This is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which gives employees the right to join a class action lawsuit. Several legal experts see this NLRB action as the beginning of a nationwide crackdown on coercive employer-employee arbitration agreements.

If you have a question as to whether your business’s arbitration practices are in compliance with federal law, DLM Legal’s attorneys can provide an answer. To get in touch with one of them, call 216-635-0002 or write at info@dlmlegal.com.