Source: http://bryanschwartzlaw.blogspot.com/2016/08/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 05:16:42+00:00

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to participate in the general election on November 8, 2016.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denied Wisconsin’s motion to stay a district court ruling striking down a provision in the state’s voter suppression law that significantly reduced early voting, as well as assorted voter ID requirements in the law. As the district court found, in removing early voting on evenings and weekends, the Wisconsin legislature targeted African-American and Latino voters, who disproportionately took advantage of the extended voting hours. In particular, eliminating early voting on Sundays has become a common tactic to reduce African-American voting by directly targeting “Souls to the Polls” events where churches provide transportation to polling locations after Sunday services. The three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit was composed entirely of Republican appointees, who denied the stay request without a written opinion.
Earlier this summer, the Fifth Circuit questioned the legitimacy of Texas’s strict voter ID law in an en banc ruling, noting that the law required forms of identification that voters of color were much less likely to possess. It further noted that Texas failed to take any reasonable steps to ameliorate the discriminatory effects of the strict voter ID requirement.
Both the Wisconsin district court and the Fourth Circuit found that the plaintiffs had met the difficult burden of showing that the voting laws were enacted with discriminatory intent, in addition to the discriminatory effect the laws would have on voters of color. The Fifth Circuit found that Texas’s law had a discriminatory effect, but remanded to the district court for reconsideration of whether the law also reflected the legislature’s intent to discriminate. Only a finding of discriminatory impact is required to obtain relief under the Voting Rights Act, but a finding of discriminatory intent allows for broader remedies.
Although the general election is only 75 days away, this story is far from over, as the Supreme Court may still intervene: North Carolina has already requested a stay of the Fourth Circuit’s ruling, and Wisconsin may yet seek similar relief. Still, it appears unlikely there are enough votes on the eight-member high court to disrupt these appellate court rulings before Tuesday, November 8.
The timing could not be more critical, with Republican nominee Donald Trump running an unprecedented campaign (at least, in recent history) founded on racist statements and appeals concerning Latinos, Muslims, and African Americans, among other groups. Thanks to an emerging consensus among the Circuit Courts of Appeal, a broader and more diverse community of Americans will be able to exercise their right to vote in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Texas this November. Voters should seize the opportunity to send a clear message that such racist appeals have no place in American politics.
* Technically, the Court struck down the coverage formula for Section 5 (contained within Section 4(b) of the Act) and left Section 5 in tact. However, without a coverage formula, Section 5 is toothless. In theory, Congress could pass a new coverage formula to put the teeth back in Section 5, but that would require Congress to agree on a new coverage formula.
right to vindicate employment rights collectively.
By this holding, the Ninth Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit, which in Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp., 823 F.3d 1147 (7th Cir. May 26, 2016) adopted the National Labor Relations Board (“The Board”) position in D.R. Horton, Inc., 357 NLRB No. 184 (2012). Under this line of authority, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not mandate enforcement of a contract that waives the substantive federal right to engage in concerted action established in Section 7 of the NLRA. (Slip Op. at p. 18-19.) Bryan Schwartz Law blogged in detail about the Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp. decision, here.
This case turns on a well-established principal: employees have the right to pursue work-related legal claims together. 29 U.S.C. § 157; Eastex, Inc. v. NLRB, 437 U.S. 556, 566 (1978). Concerted activity – the right of employees to act together – is the essential substantive right established by the NLRA. 29 U.S.C. § 157. Ernst & Young interfered with that right by requiring its employees to resolve all of their legal claims in “separate proceedings.” Accordingly the concerted action waiver violates the NLRA and cannot be enforced.
Other circuit courts have taken a contrary position, enforcing employers concerted action waivers under the FAA. See Cellular Sales of Missouri, LLC v. N.L.R.B., 824 F.3d 772, 776 (8th Cir. 2016); Murphy Oil USA, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 808 F.3d 1013 (5th Cir. 2015); Owen v. Bristol Care, Inc., 702 F.3d 1050, 1053-54 (8th Cir. 2013); D.R. Horton, Inc. v. NLRB, 737 F.3d 344, 361 (5th Cir. 2013); Sutherland v. Ernst & Young LLP, 726 F.3d 290, 297 n.8 (2d Cir. 2013).
As more circuits choose sides on whether class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable, Supreme Court review becomes an inevitability.
The High Court would also be wise to resolve a disagreement between the Ninth and Seventh Circuits regarding such waivers. In the Seventh Circuit, any “[c]ontracts that stipulate away employees’ Section 7 rights . . . are unenforceable.” Epic, 823 F.3d at 1155. The Ninth Circuit precedent is narrower, making such contracts enforceable if employment is not conditioned on agreeing to the clause. (Slip. Op. 11, n. 4.) For example, if an employee has the opportunity to opt-out of a class action waiver and keep his or her job, but chooses not to, that waiver would be enforceable by the employer in the Ninth Circuit. (Id. (citing Johnmohammadi v. Bloomingdale’s, Inc., 755 F.3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2014))). The Seventh Circuit provides a clearer rule, one that better comports with the purposes of the NLRA, and one that the Supreme Court should adopt.
For now, workers in the Ninth and Seventh Circuits, as well as their advocates, should take note that employers cannot force employees to sign class action waivers as a condition of employment, because Epic and Morris tell us that the NLRA provides employees with the right to vindicate their employment rights collectively.

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