Sterling Jewelers Class Case Undermines Arbitration: Groups (1)

Employer groups want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that ordered Sterling Jewelers Inc. into class arbitration with roughly 70,000 female workers, arguing that decision creates uncertainty and conflicts with other court rulings.

Prominent business groups—the Center for Workplace Compliance, the Retail Litigation Center, and the National Retail Federation—asked the high court to reverse a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision that cleared the way for class arbitration in a dispute between Sterling Jewelers and workers claiming pay and promotion bias.

The Second Circuit decided in November that an arbitrator had the ...