Epic goes to court: 5 things to know

Julie Spitzer -

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case involving an overtime pay dispute by an employee at Verona, Wis.-based Epic, according to The Cap Times.

Here are five things to know.

1. Epic v. Lewis is being joined with two other cases in the Supreme Court — National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris. All three cases deal with questions on employee disputes.

2. Epic's case involves former employee Jacob Lewis, who alleged Epic had violated federal and state law by neglecting to pay him and other technical writers overtime pay. Mr. Lewis filed the lawsuit in February 2015.

3. However, Mr. Lewis and other employees waived the right to participate in any class, collective or representative proceeding when they signed an agreement in April 2014 stating wages and working hours could only be discussed through individual arbitration.

4. Justices will decide whether Epic's individual arbitration agreement violates the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which provides for and encourages collective bargaining, or if it is legal under the Federal Arbitration Act, which reads agreements "shall be valid, irrevocable and enforceable."

5. The case was upheld in federal district court and in the Seventh Court of Appeals last year, in which both courts agreed Epic's arbitration policy violated federal law, reports The Cap Times.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

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