A lawyer for Goldman Sachs urged a U.S. appeals court Wednesday to send a former employee’s gender discrimination dispute to arbitration rather than allow her to proceed with a proposed class action.
International Business News says the case is being watched closely because it could help other employers avoid discrimination class actions like the one filed by Lisa Parisi, a former Goldman Sachs managing director.
Robert Giuffra, a lawyer for Goldman Sachs, told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that a lower court was incorrect in deciding last year not to send Parisi’s case to arbitration.
But Paul Bland, a lawyer for Parisi, argued that arbitration clauses can’t prohibit employees from bringing class actions alleging a pattern or practice of discrimination at a company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have favored arbitration.
“Both employer and employee side employment lawyers should be very interested in the outcome of this case, as it will help define the scope of the Supreme Court’s AT&T decision in the employment context,” writes David Weissman, RLG employment attorney.
“Given the Supreme Court’s ruling that a class action waiver in the consumer context is enforceable, it seems likely that this will apply to the employment setting as well, which will help employers avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. Accordingly, employers should review their policies (in conjunction with counsel) to ensure that they contain clearly worded, appropriate arbitration agreements which include waivers of class claims.”
If you’d like to discuss employment law, contact David Weissman, head of the Rose Law Group Employment Law Dept., dweissman@roselawgroup.com
