Arbitration In The Fifth – October 2020

In October, the Fifth Circuit's Robertson v. Intratek Computer, Inc. explained what would be required of a whistleblower statute for that statute to displace an arbitration agreement. In the district courts, almost half of the decisions involved the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including opinions discussing the notice in collection actions. Finally, the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi provided a somewhat rare look at a motion to compel in a bankruptcy setting.

When might a federal whistleblower statute render an arbitration agreement unenforceable?

When the whistleblower statute reflects a "contrary statutory demand" ousting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Robertson v. Intratek Computer, Inc., 976 F.3d 575 (5th Cir. 2020) tackles the question of whether 41 U.S.C. § 4712's whistleblower protection rendered an arbitration agreement unenforceable. Robertson explains that courts are obligated to enforce arbitration agreements