Forum-Selection Clauses Won’t Get High Court Review

Can an employer force lawsuits over workers’ benefits into the employer’s preferred court? The U.S. Supreme Court refused to say, for the second time in a year (Clause v. U.S. Dist. Court for E. Dist. of Mo., U.S., No. 16-641, certiorari denied 1/17/17).

The justices on Jan. 17 denied a petition asking whether forum-selection clauses—provisions in employee benefit plans that limit the courts in which workers can file suit—are permissible under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The court denied a similar petition in January 2016 after asking the U.S. solicitor general to file a ...