Supreme Court sides with businesses in worker dispute case

The Supreme Court sided with businesses in a ruling issued Monday over employment disputes. The divided justices ruled 5-4 that businesses can require workers to use an arbitration process to pursue complaints individually, rather than banding together to file lawsuits over pay and workplace conditions. The ruling does not affect employees covered by labor unions. In the majority opinion joined by the court’s four other conservative members, Justice Neil Gorsuch focused on the letter of the law: “As a matter of policy these questions are surely debatable. But as a matter of law the answer is clear.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who read her dissenting opinion from the bench, warned the ruling would lead to “huge underenforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers.” Other critics warned it will open the door to lawsuits attempting to limit class-action suits alleging racial discrimination.