| Volume 144 Number 36 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
People facing difficulties having children often explore fertility products to help them get pregnant. But some products, including some dietary supplements that claim to solve fertility problems, aren’t science-based and can put your health at serious risk. Click here for more.
Takata airbag fund pays out another $46 million to 161 victims
The fund established to compensate victims of Takata’s defective airbag inflators is writing more checks. The fund administrators have announced they are paying an additional $46 million to settle 161 more claims.
The fund has already paid out billions of dollars after the largest auto recall in history. The airbag inflators can degrade over time and explode, spraying the inside of the vehicle with tiny bits of metal.
The faulty airbags have been linked to 18 deaths in the U.S. and hundreds of injuries. Worldwide, there have been at least 27 fatalities. Click here for more.
Your Money
If you've recently seen a deposit in your bank account from the IRS, you might think there has been a fourth stimulus payment from the federal government. Actually, that's not the case. It's really a "plus-up" payment. Of course, if you've never heard of a plus-up payment, and if you haven't received one, you may be seeing dollar signs and getting excited. But you should probably rein in your excitement. Plenty of people will not be receiving a plus-up stimulus check. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Employee handbook does not create enforceable arbitration clause. A judge in the Western District of Wisconsin found no valid arbitration agreement existed, because of a disclaimer in a 48-page employee handbook. An employee of Pember Companies Inc. brought a proposed class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Wisconsin law for unpaid wages. Pember responded with a motion to compel arbitration based on a dispute resolution procedure contained in its handbook, which provides: I agree that all problems, claims and disputes experienced by me or Pember . . . related to my employment shall be resolved as outlined below. I agree to submit all such disputes to final and binding arbitration. Arbitration shall be the sole and exclusive forum and remedy for all covered disputes of either Pember . . . or me. (Emphasis added.) The dispute resolution policy limited employees to individual claims and not class or collective actions. Further, the policy declared that it is “binding” and provided that the employee has read the entire provision and understands its restrictions and that the provision can only be revised by Pember’s president. But the handbook did not conclude with that language but also contained an employee acknowledgment form on its last page, which O’Bryan signed. But the bolded text of the acknowledgment form seemed to undo any agreement to arbitrate. It declared in pertinent part: Unless I have an individual written employment contract, my employment relationship with Pember . . . is at will. I acknowledge that this handbook is neither a contract of employment nor a legal document. The court had to determine “which statement should control” – the handbook’s statement that the arbitration provision was “binding” or the acknowledgment’s contract disclaimer. The disclaimer did not merely say the handbook was not an employment contract but instead declared it was not “a legal document.” And the phrase’s plain meaning, according to the court, was “that the handbook created no enforceable right for either Pember or its employees.” O’Bryan v. Pember Companies, Inc., ___ F. Supp. 3d ___ (N.D. Wisc. 2021). Click here for more.