Ninth Circuit: Court Decides Threshold Arbitration Issue Absent Clear And Unmistakable Evidence

Julia Farrell and Kaytlin Kopen of Husch Blackwell LLP have authored this article in JD Supra, discussing the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in SEIU Local 121RN v. Los Robles Regional Medical Center, in which the court held “that the power to decide whether a grievance is arbitrable in labor cases resides with the federal court and not the arbitrator absent “clear and unmistakable” evidence to the contrary.” The article explains that this decision overrules prior Ninth Circuit precedent in order to comply with the United States Supreme Court decision in Granite Rock Co. v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters