In his classic book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, the political scientist A.O Hirschman argued that dissatisfaction with a product, service, relationship, or other outcome can give rise to two broad options: one can walk away (exit) or try to change the outcome by engagement (voice). In the labor market, exit and voice takes the form of either quitting a job or using channels — unions, internal dispute resolution, rights granted by government — to seek changes in conditions at work.
Workers Shouldn’t Have to Sign Away Their Rights to Class Action Lawsuits
In his classic book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, the political scientist A.O Hirschman argued that dissatisfaction with a product, service, relationship, or other outcome can give rise to two broad options: one can walk away (exit) or try to change the outcome by engagement (voice). In the labor market, exit and voice takes the form of either quitting a job or using channels — unions, internal dispute resolution, rights granted by government—to seek changes in conditions at work. A May 2018 Supreme Court decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis poses a grave threat to worker voice by allowing businesses to require that workers, as a term of their employment, surrender their right to participate in class action lawsuits. That means that a person who believes they have suffered discrimination or sexual harassment at the workplace cannot join with others who believe they have been similarly harmed to seek legal remedies. This ruling — and other events and laws that preceded it — has significant implications for workers, organizations, and society.