Justices Suggest They Will Divide on Worker Class-Action Rights

The first Supreme Court argument of the new term suggested the justices are divided over the power of employers to block class action lawsuits by workers and channel disputes into arbitration.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the court's swing vote, suggested through his questions that he would side with employers. But the newest justice, Neil Gorsuch, gave no indications of his views, saying nothing during the hour-long session.

At issue is whether employers can enforce promises they extract from workers to pursue grievances as individual arbitration cases, rather than as group lawsuits in court. The justices are considering three disputes involving wage-and-hour claims, and the ruling probably will apply to discrimination cases as well.