Here & Now

Fast Facts: Epic Systems v. Lewis

Frederica Freyberg:

A Wisconsin tech giant was at the center of an U.S. Supreme Court ruling delivered Monday. The ruling says that when it comes to employee grievances, companies can prohibit employees from banding together and taking those issues to court.

Multimedia reporter Marisa Wojcik explains.

Marisa Wojcik:

Epic systems, the Wisconsin-based health care software company saw a victory this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor. The 5-4 ruling says that employees cannot join together in legal action for issues that happen at work. This joining together, sometimes referred to as collective or class action, is common when people have similar smaller claims. They come together and pool their resources to make their case. In 2014, Epic Systems established a nondisclosure agreement requiring employees to waive their right to collective legal action. Employees also had to sign onto an arbitration agreement meaning disputes had to be settled out of court. When cases are settled through arbitration, they are legally honored under the federal arbitration act. Arbitration can be seen as a quicker and cheaper alternative to settling a disagreement. But unlike cases brought to court, information from arbitration proceedings is usually confidential and not available to the public. The agreement Epic Systems had its employees sign on to said that problems with the employer must be settled through arbitration and on an individual basis. Agreeing to both of these was required in order for employees to keep their jobs. The four judges who ruled against Epic Systems argued that the law under the National Labor Relations Act is broadly meant to protect workers from the power of their employers. They contend that employees have the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and protection. The five judges that ruled in favor of Epic Systems argued that those concerted activities refer to collective bargaining, not class action lawsuits, and that changes to the law must be made by Congress, not by the court. Arbitration agreements are becoming increasingly common. A recent report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute estimates 60 million employees are subject to mandatory arbitration procedures. For these and other fact facts, visit wpt.org.