www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kelly Hoffman (202) 314-2054 or [email protected]
Federal Court Overrules NLRB
Washington, D.C., December 3, 2013 – Today unions received yet another defeat as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the National Labor Relations Board in the case DR Horton v. National Labor Relations Board. The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center previously filed an amicus brief in the case advocating on behalf of the employers’ right to resolve legal disputes through arbitration rather than costly court battles.
“The Court’s ruling today is a major setback for the NLRB which continues to rely on controversial policies to invalidate class action waivers. However it is a victory for small business owners, who lack the in-house resources to defend employment disputes in court,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “For many small business owners, monetary resources are diverted away from the business to pay legal fees. But arbitration provides an expeditious process for resolving these disputes without costly legal fees and reduces the likelihood of catastrophic class action liability.
“Arbitration is a fair and neutral process for the resolution of employment disputes and after today’s decision it should not be denied simply because Big Labor via the NLRB sees a bigger pay day through the costly court process.”
DR Horton v. National Labor Relations Board centered on the question of whether it is an unfair labor practice for an employment contract to contain a waiver of class action rights and to instead provide that disputes shall be resolved individually through arbitration. NFIB’s amicus brief in this case spoke to the right of employers to choose arbitration over the court system.
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The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America’s small business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.
