Labor Department Sets Arbitration Clauses as Enforcement Target

The US Department of Labor is heightening efforts to prosecute employers that use mandatory arbitrary clauses in employment contracts as an offensive maneuver to interfere with workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the agency’s solicitor said.

The DOL plans to pursue more cases where companies are subjecting workers to arbitration of workplace disputes in an apparent effort to side-step federal laws, Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said Wednesday at a conference hosted by New York University.

This employer tactic “violates the systematic redress that’s needed” and particularly prevents workers in low-wage industries whose rights are regularly and “systematically” ...