The Democrat majority on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has issued yet another request for friend-of-the-court briefs from interested parties on an issue of importance to employers, this time on the question of whether an employer should be permitted to include a confidentiality clause in an arbitration agreement without violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act). The Board’s latest request for briefing, as is the case with two other such recent requests, suggests that it is preparing to overturn a major pro-employer position that was adopted by a Republican majority Board during the Trump Administration.
The Board’s invitation for input, which arises in the case of Ralphs Grocery Co., Case No. 21-CA-073942, asks interested parties to provide their views on whether the NLRB’s previous decisions allowing employers to include confidentiality clauses in arbitration agreements should be overturned. In addition, the Board is asking whether it should reverse its previous decisions finding that arbitration agreements are enforceable if they contain a “savings clause” specifying that the agreement does not limit an employee’s ability to exercise his or her rights under the NLRA.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.