What is class action waiver?

A class action waiver is contract language, usually paired with an arbitration clause, in which a person agrees to bring any dispute individually and never as part of a class, collective, or representative action. The U.S. Supreme Court held in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (2011) and Epic Systems v. Lewis (2018) that such waivers are generally enforceable, including against state laws that tried to ban them.

A class action waiver is a distinct concept from an arbitration clause, though the two are frequently bundled in the same paragraph: a contract could theoretically require arbitration while still allowing class-wide claims, or vice versa, but most modern consumer and employment contracts pair both together. Because enforceable waivers route disputes into individual arbitration, they are the single biggest reason large groups of affected people cannot join a single class case — which is part of what has driven growth in mass arbitration as an alternative.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22.