Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp.

Summary

The Court unanimously held that the collective-bargaining agreement did not clearly and unmistakably waive employees’ rights to a judicial forum for federal employment-discrimination claims. The presumption of arbitrability under the Labor Management Relations Act applies to contractual disputes, not independent statutory claims. Neither the agreement’s general arbitration language nor its general reference to compliance with law explicitly encompassed ADA claims. The Court vacated the Fourth Circuit’s judgment and remanded, leaving unresolved whether an explicit union-negotiated waiver would be enforceable. There were no separate opinions.