Cintas Asks Supreme Court to Bless 401(k) Plan Fee Arbitration

Cintas Corp. called on the US Supreme Court to send a dispute over its 401(k) plan fees into arbitration, saying the federal circuit courts are split over whether arbitration agreements in employment contracts can cut off ERISA class litigation.

Federal courts including the Second, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits have long agreed that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act are generally arbitrable, even if they allege violations of the statute’s fiduciary obligations, Cintas said in a petition docketed Monday. But in the past few years, both the Sixth and Ninth Circuits have incorrectly allowed ERISA class claims ...