Epic Systems v. Lewis: Supreme Court Allows Mandatory Arbitration Blocking Class Action Labor Claims

The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employers can require workers to sign mandatory arbitration agreements waiving their right to join class action lawsuits over wage theft, discrimination, or other labor law violations. Justice Neil Gorsuch—a Federalist Society member confirmed after Senate Republicans blocked Merrick Garland—writes for the majority that the Federal Arbitration Act allows employers to force workers into individual arbitration rather than collective legal action.

The decision enables corporations to insert arbitration clauses in employment contracts requiring workers to pursue wage theft claims individually rather than as class actions, making it economically infeasible for workers to recover small amounts (hundreds or thousands of dollars) when litigation costs exceed potential recovery. By forcing workers into individual arbitration with corporate-selected arbitrators, employers effectively immunize themselves from accountability for systematic wage theft affecting thousands of workers, as few employees will pursue individual claims for modest sums.

Epic Systems represents judicial protection of labor suppression parallel to Janus (2018): where Janus uses First Amendment doctrine to destroy public sector union financing, Epic Systems uses arbitration law to eliminate workers’ ability to collectively challenge wage theft and labor violations through the courts. Together with AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (2011) enabling arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, the Federalist Society-majority Supreme Court systematically eliminates collective legal action—whether through unions (Janus) or class action litigation (Epic Systems)—forcing workers into individual confrontations with corporations where power imbalances make meaningful accountability impossible. The ruling completes the destruction of worker collective power across all domains: NLRA organizing rights undermined by NLRB capture, strikes eliminated by permanent replacement, and now legal remedies blocked by mandatory arbitration.