In this weekend’s news and commentary, workers get wins in two fights against forced arbitration; In-N-Out Burger bans masks for employees in five states; and new data shows impact of Hollywood strikes on the movie and television industry.
Last week, two federal courts of appeals issued decisions in favor of workers who are trying to avoid arbitrating their claims. First, on Thursday the Sixth Circuit ruled that Papa Johns could not enforce an arbitration agreement against a worker who claimed he never saw it. Andrew Bazemore sued Papa Johns on behalf of delivery drivers in Kentucky for allegedly violating federal wage and hour law. According to Bazemore, the company reimbursed him for driving costs at roughly half the recommended rate, and as a result his wages were lower than both federal and state minimum wage. The company argued that Bazemore had signed an agreement to arbitrate disputes, but the court on Thursday held that there was no reason to prevent a jury from believing Bazemore’s claim that he never saw that agreement.
Then on Friday, the Ninth Circuit held that semitruck drivers for Domino’s Pizza could pursue a wage and hour class action, rather than being forced into arbitration. The drivers deliver products from supply centers to franchisee storefronts, and they are suing Domino’s for unpaid wages and insufficient reimbursements for expenses they incur on the job. As the Ninth Circuit explained, the Federal Arbitration Act generally favors mandatory...
Washington, April 27 (IANS) Prominent television hosts and journalists have pushed back against online claims that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting was staged. They have called such...