Chase Worker Class Certification Notice Too Widespread (1)

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. convinced the Fifth Circuit Feb. 21 that the court overseeing a wage dispute by its employees improperly sent notice of collective action certification to workers bound by arbitration agreements.

Employees who sign valid arbitration agreements shouldn’t receive notice that Fair Labor Standards Act claims against their employer have been certified because they are ineligible to opt in, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held.

Notice was sent to 42,000 current and former workers in Chase’s call centers. But 85 percent of them signed arbitration agreements, Chase argued.

The ruling has the potential to ...