Executive Summary: The Eleventh Circuit recently held that an arbitration agreement that waives an employee’s ability to bring a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). See Walthour v. Chipio Windshield Repair, LLC (11th Cir. March 21, 2014). The court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the right to file a collective action under the FLSA is a non-waivable substantive right and that the agreement was invalid because it purported to waive that right. The court found no contrary congressional command in the FLSA that would override the FAA’s strong policy in favor of arbitration.
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