NJ Ruling Opens State Battles On Transpo Worker Exemption

Labor and Employment Partner Tina Tellado was cited in Law360 about a recent state Supreme Court ruling on the New Jersey Arbitration Act. New Jersey transportation companies gained some new leverage in fighting employment class actions after the state's highest court reinforced employers' arbitration agreements under Garden State law, even if their workers qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)'s Section 1 exemption that would otherwise let them pursue their disputes in court.

The New Jersey decision pumps the brakes on plaintiffs' Section 1 arguments, providing what Ms. Tellado described as a "procedural sidestep over the Section 1 exemption quagmire to enforce arbitration agreements under state law even where state law is not specifically invoked in the contract. The opinion will serve to assist employers to enforce what they bargained for with their employees — waiver of jury trials and the arbitration of all disputes — notwithstanding the particular job duties or where they were performed by the employee," Ms. Tellado said.

READ: NJ Ruling Opens State Battles On Transpo Worker Exemption