Uber Engineer Who Brought Kalanick Down Files Collective Action Briefs

Baker Curtis & Schwartz, the law firm that represents Susan Fowler, the former Uber engineer whose blog led to the ouster of CEO Travis Kalanick, has filed amicus briefs for Fowler in three U.S. Supreme Court cases, asking the justices to rule that class and collective action bans in workplace arbitration agreements violate federal labor laws. Uber, like many companies, requires employees to arbitrate grievances in order to head off lawsuits. Among the points made by the brief: Without collective action there will be more systemic employment law violations and less effective remedies, thus shifting the balance between capital and labor in favor of capital.