AT&T Aftermath: Sleazy Employment Contract Uses Arbitration to Escape Paying Minimum Wage

The Corporate Court's decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion set a dangerous precedent, and is forcing everyday Americans out of the courthouse. AFJ takes a look at some of the cases impacted by the decision.

Case: D’Antuono v. Service Road Corp. 

Dina D’Antuono was an exotic dancer at a club in Connecticut.  She and other dancers, after working for a few months, were taken aside during a shift and told they needed to sign a contract.  It said the dancers weren’t entitled to minimum wage and worked only for tips.  It also contained an arbitration clause that banned class actions, shifted fees onto losing plaintiffs, and imposed a six-month time limit on filing claims.  D’Antuono sued the club owners under the Fair Labor Standards Act to recover wages she and other dancers were owed.  Citing Concepción, the judge ruled that it didn’t matter whether or not the dancers would, as a practical matter, be able to vindicate their rights through arbitration, and threw the case out of court.

Click here for more on the aftermath of the Court's AT&T decision.