Horton Hears a WHAT?

Can the National Labor Relations Board reverse the Supreme Court? These days, nothing seems impossible, but the attached NLRB order, D. R. Horton, Inc., is remarkable both for its disregard of the decision last April in AT&T v. Concepcion, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 1740, which approved the signing of class action waivers in consumer contracts requiring arbitration, and for its delving into the province of the Department of Labor. At issue was an employer-required “mutual arbitration agreement,” challenged by a construction superintendent. The problem came to a head when the superintendent’s attorney informed the employer that he had been retained to represent a class of superintendents who claimed they had been misclassified as exempt executives. When the employer replied that there had been no notice of intent to arbitrate, the superintendent filed an unfair labor practice charge.

Click here to read the full opinion.