Corporate Arbitration Tactic Backfires as Claims Flood In

Corporate America rejoiced when the Supreme Court allowed them to force employees to agree to arbitration and forgo their right to sue in workplace disputes.

Employers rushed to include “class action waivers” in contracts.

But now they may be rethinking that approach as some employees are taking those clauses to their extreme. Aided by law firms, they’ve initiated arbitration proceedings by the thousands. The cost for employers could total tens of millions of dollars.

At Uber Technologies Inc., 12,501 drivers filed for arbitration beginning in August 2018, saying they were misclassified as independent contractors and should be employees. Similar arguments ...