News & Press

A January 3rd, 2012 decision by the National Labor Relations Board makes clear that employment class actions are not going away without a fight. This decision comes less than a year after the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the vitality of arbitration agreements as a way to limit class action exposure. It appears there may be a showdown coming to reconcile the conflict that exists in the law at the federal level.

By way of background, the employment litigation in the U.S. is at an all-time high. In 2011 a record number of cases were filed in each of the following categories: employment discrimination, wage & hour and ERISA. The highest risk area in employment litigation is almost always class actions. To mitigate this risk, many companies require that their employees sign agreements waiving their right to a trial in court and waiving their right to bring a class or collective action, all in favor of individual binding arbitration.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion strongly favoring arbitration in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740. That case held that the Federal Arbitration Act trumps a California state law that would have voided arbitration agreements like the ones described above. The AT&T case was not an employment case, however, unlike the recent government agency decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda, NLRB Case No. 12-CA-25764. That case affirmed employees’ right to bring class or collective actions and found it illegal to ask employees to sign arbitration agreements attempting to prevent that right. Even though this is a case under the National Labor Relations Act, it applies to all U.S. employees, whether their workplace is union or non-union.

As a result of the D.R. Horton decision, employment class actions are once again very much in vogue. Plaintiffs’ attorneys will continue to feel emboldened to bring such actions. You should make sure your clients have reviewed their EPL programs, which can offer protection against these risks. Your Swett & Crawford broker can assist you in finding the right coverage for your client’s situation.

© 2012 The Swett & Crawford Group, Inc. Prepared by Kevin Wolff, Swett & Crawford's Deputy General Counsel. Kevin assists Swett & Crawford's Professional Services Group brokers by preparing policy comparisons, advising on coverage issues and tracking legal developments that have coverage implications. This alert should not be considered legal advice.

Transportation Underwriter David A. Pohle has joined the Transportation Practice Group of Swett & Crawford, Pete Feeney, Sales Leader of the Scarborough and Media offices, announced today. He joins Swett & Crawford after eight years at Jimcor Agencies where he was the lead underwriter and director of the Transportation Department.

Prior to that affiliation David held a series of positions with increasing responsibility at Baldwin Sadler Corporation, beginning as an Underwriting Assistant in 1993 and ending his tenure there as Vice President of Transportation Underwriting.

“David brings over 17 years of Transportation underwriting experience along with a significant retail following to his assignment here at Swett. We are extremely pleased to have him on our team.” Feeney said.

Swett & Crawford, a leading wholesale insurance intermediary, announced today that it has acquired The ABC Program, an underwriting facility based in St. Louis, Missouri, from AHM Financial Group LLC.

The ABC (“Aviation Based Coverage”) Program delivers a comprehensive offering of property and casualty insurance including airport property, automobile, inland marine and other related coverages geared to retail brokers specializing in aviation.

The transaction was completed on January 4, 2012. The ABC Program will operate as The ABC Program, a division of Swett & Crawford.

“The ABC Program has both a long history of service to the aviation industry and an outstanding reputation in the insurance industry. We believe it will be an excellent fit with our existing products and capabilities,” said J. Neal Abernathy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Swett & Crawford. “Partnering with the program’s carrier, OneBeacon, we are confident we will help take the facility to the next level.”

Beckie Rodriguez, who will continue as Program Manager for The ABC Program, commented “Swett & Crawford will be an outstanding partner for The ABC Program. Swett’s national network of retail agents and high-quality employee base of brokers and underwriters will give us the distribution we need to expand. We are thrilled to join the Swett & Crawford team and are excited for the growth that the combination will bring to Swett and the program.”

Michael Bavely, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Swett & Crawford said, “Our acquisition of The ABC Program is consistent with our strategy to expand our underwriting platform and bring more product offerings to our existing clients. As a company, we hope to continue to add high-quality program business to our platform via acquisition in the months that follow.”