Epic Systems v. Lewis Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Epic Systems v. Lewis |138 S. Ct 1612 (2018)

Is an employment agreement that requires an employee to give up statutorily granted rights ever enforceable? And if so, under what circumstances? We explore that question in Epic Systems versus Lewis.

Stephen Morris worked as an accountant for Ernst and Young. When he was hired, Ernst and Young required Morris to sign a contract agreeing to individually arbitrate all employment-related disputes.

Morris later filed suit against Ernst and Young for alleged wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Morris sought to bring his claim as a collective action. Ernst and Young moved to compel individualized arbitration. Morris opposed the motion and argued that the individual arbitration provision in his employment agreement violated another statute, the National Labor Relations Act, or N L R A. The N L R A grants employees the right to join together for purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual protection. Accordingly, Morris argued that the arbitration provision was unenforceable. The district court disagreed and granted Ernst and Young’s motion to compel. Morris appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which reversed.

Ernst and Young then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which granted cert. The Court also granted review in several similar cases, including Epic Systems versus Lewis, in which the Seventh Circuit had reached the same conclusion as the Ninth Circuit in Morris’s case. The Court resolved all cases in one opinion.




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