Epic System Corp versus Lewis case
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After a precise analysis of Epic System Corp versus Lewis’s case, the court got a right and wrong at the same time. The court was correct in determining the case by following the rules outlined in the National Labor Relation Act where it states that any employee should try to solve disputes with the employer before filing the class action lawsuit (Fernandez, 2019). The employee should have given the employer a chance to solve the dispute before filing a class-action lawsuit. The court was correct also because the National Labor Relation Act does not allow an employee to file a class-action lawsuit. In my view, I see the justice siding with the corporation. The court was correct because the employee should have been held accountable under the Federal Arbitration Act that allows the arbitration between the employer and the employee to be enforceable and valid.
Based on section 7 of the National Labor Relation Act, the court got wrong. Under section 7, employees are allowed to join labor institutions to bargain collectively for mutual protection. Section 7 also encourages employees to engage or establish concerted actions that better their wellbeing when working in any institution. Section 7 allows employees to enhance corrective bargaining among them through joining unions that address their issues in one voice. Under section 7, the act does not disapprove or approve arbitration and does not mention anything concerning a class action lawsuit. In my view, the court should have considered rules and regulations that safeguard the employees’ freedom to seek justice on section 7 of the National Labor Relation Act.
If I were the 10th justice, I would support Lewis based on section seven that an employee has the right to file a class lawsuit against an employer. Based on section 7, no Law prevents an employee from filing a collective bargaining procedure or a class-action lawsuit against the employer. According to the Fair Labor Standards of 1938, the employer in this case was violating the employee’s rights by underpaying them. According to the Epic System Corp versus Lewi’s case, employees across the board were complaining over the same issue, under this situation it made sense to file a class action lawsuit instead of arbitration agreements advocated by the 10th justice. In my opinion, it is unfair for the court to declare an arbitration agreement in this case since the complaint was involving more than one employee.
References
Fernandez, M. K. (2019). Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis: American Employees Suffer an Epic Loss in the Ongoing Arbitration Conflict. Loy. L. Rev., 65, 453.
