The recent switch by the Trump administration's U.S. JusticeDepartment from opposing to defending bans on class actions inworkplace arbitration agreements will have consequences beyond atrio of challenges the U.S. Supreme Court isset to hear this fall.

On June 16, acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall informed the justices that the JusticeDepartment was reversing its position in a key laborcase, National Labor RelationsBoard v. Murphy Oil, which tests employee arbitrationagreements. The government said it would no longer support theNLRB's position that arbitration agreements barring class actionsviolate federal labor law.

Less than three weeks later, on July 3, the Justice Departmentrelied on that reversal in the high court to justify abandoning itssupport for a class action provision in the U.S. Labordepartment's so-called “fiduciary rule.

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Marcia Coyle

Marcia Coyle, based in Washington, covers the U.S. Supreme Court. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @MarciaCoyle