Amicus (Friend of the Court) Briefs

Getman, Sweeney & Dunn on behalf of The National Employment Lawyers Association, the National Employment Law Project, and The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law & Policy has written and filed a “Friend of the Court” brief in this case. The case claims that staff accountants were unlawfully denied overtime pay by Ernst & Young. E&Y asked the District Court to send the case to arbitration on the basis of a preemployment arbitration clause which it required its accountants to sign. That arbitration clause also contained a section requiring employees to bring any legal claims against E&Y on an individual basis. The District Court ruled that the waiver of class or collective action rights violated the statutory rights of the workers to sue collectively. E&Y appealed. NELA and the other amici argue that in enacting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Congress required that claims be able to be brought on a collective action basis. Click here to read the Brief for Amici Curiae filed by Getman, Sweeney & Dunn on behalf of NELA and the other organizations.