As a condition of getting and keeping their jobs, millions of employees in the United States have signed agreements to take any disputes with their employers to arbitration rather than court. Typically, the agreements also prohibit the arbitrator from consolidating similar claims.

Why employers like the agreements should be obvious: they pre-empt court challenges on workplace disputes and make it harder for employees to join forces to demand better treatment. As for why employees sign, they have no choice: their jobs require it.

The good news is that this is not the end of the story.

In a recent ruling, the National Labor Relations Board concluded that employees’ federal right to engage in concerted action trumps any arbitration agreement that bars group claims. It was an impressive defense of employee rights. Employers can still require arbitration, but they must also offer ways for employees to bring collective claims, either in arbitration or in court.

Business lobbyists, including the Chamber of Commerce, have denounced the ruling. They say it is an invitation to vast class action lawsuits on issues that could be resolved out of court. That is an exaggeration, intended to deny employees the right — and the power — that comes from jointly pressing their concerns.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

Business groups are likely to appeal the board’s decision to a federal court of appeals. They may try to assert that the board’s decision should not apply in nonunion companies. But since 1935, federal law has given employees the right to join together for better pay and working conditions — with or without a union.

Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.

Business groups have also argued that the labor board should follow a ruling last year in which the Supreme Court decided, 5 to 4, that federal law prevents consumers who have signed arbitration agreements from banding together in a single arbitration — a devastating blow to consumer rights. The labor board has already correctly asserted that the law governing consumers is not the same one that governs employees, and that labor law clearly gives employees the right to jointly pursue workplace grievances, including through litigation.

Starting this month, the labor board has three new members. All five members — three Democrats and two Republicans — have solid backgrounds in labor law, which bodes well for bridging potential partisan divides. But as the arbitration ruling shows, business groups and their Republican allies will keep pushing back hard against employee rights. Going forward, the key will be for members to remain focused on why the labor law exists.