United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1001 v. Mutual Benefit Life Insurance

In this case employees of Ernst Home Center brought a claim against their employer under state wage and hour statutes alleging that they were not paid for all the hours they worked. Ernst contends that the dispute must be resolved under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (Agreement), which requires arbitration of all wage disputes. We hold that the employees may maintain their statutory claim because the statutes upon which they rely create nonnegotiable rights and because their claims may be resolved without interpreting the Agreement. Accordingly, we affirm.

Shirley Behrends,…