On March 22, 2011, the Supreme Court came to a decision in Kasten v. Saint Gobain. The Seventh Circuit had ruled that an oral complaint made to an employer who the employee believed was violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) did not fall under the anti-retaliation provision of the act. The Court reversed the Seventh Circuit and found that an oral complaint was sufficient. This decision raises questions about the standards under which summary judgment could be granted in an FLSA retaliation case. [More]

On October 13, 2010, the Seventh Circuit handed down their ruling in Lumbermans Mutual Casualty Company v. Broadspire Management Service, Inc, LLC. In that case, the court reiterated its position that questions of procedural arbitrability are not for the courts to consider, but rather for arbitrators to assess. While this decision may seem dangerous at first glance, it is actually a well-reasoned approach that promotes arbitration. This article will consider why Lumbermans and other similar cases are rightly decided and promote desirable incentives in potential litigants. [More]

On June 17, 2010, the Supreme Court held in New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB that over 600 decisions made by two-member panels of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must be vacated and reheard because the procedure of having two-member panels hear a dispute did not comply with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The majority and the dissent both based their decisions on their interpretation of the statute. However, in his dissent, Justice Kennedy also highlights the fact that when Congress passed the NLRA, they surely did not intend to allow the Labor Board be left defunct for a long period of time. [More]