But such waivers of union members' right to bring claims in court “must be ‘clear and unmistakable.'” Lawrence v. Sol G. Atlas Realty Co., Inc., 841 F.3d 81, 82 (2d Cir. 2016). A “clear and unmistakable waiver exists where one of two requirements is met: (1) the arbitration clause contains an explicit provision whereby an employee specifically agrees to submit all causes of action arising out of his employment to arbitration, or (2) the arbitration clause specifically references or incorporates a statute into the agreement to arbitrate disputes.” Freeman v. River Manor Corp., No. 17-CV-5162 (RJD)(RER), 2019 WL 1177717, at *4 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2019) (citation omitted). Courts apply this “clear and unmistakable” standard not to ask whether the parties clearly and unmistakably agreed to arbitrate, but “whether, once we have established that an agreement exists, that agreement clearly and unmistakably encompasses the plaintiff's statutory claims.” Abdullayeva, 928 F.3d at 223.

“Before bringing [an action pursuant to § 301 of the LMRA against an employer], the employee must exhaust grievance procedures provided by the relevant collective bargaining agreement.” Dougherty, 902 F.2d at 203; see also Freeman v. River Manor Corp., No. 17-cv-5162, 2019 WL 1177717, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2019) (same); Shearon v. Comfort Tech Mech. Co., Inc., 936 F.Supp.2d 143, 155 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (“To bring a claim under Section 301 of the LMRA, an employee must at least attempt to exhaust . . . procedures established by the [collective bargaining agreement].”); Vaca, 386 U.S. at 184

Thus, as in Berger, Defendant has failed to demonstrate that establishing liability on Plaintiff's state-law claims will require interpretation of the CBAs. Defendant also cites to Freeman v. River Manor Corp., No. 17 Civ. 5162 (RJD) (RER), 2019 WL 1177717 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2019), modified by 2019 WL 3578432 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 5, 2019), to establish that Plaintiff's NYLL claims will require interpretation of the CBAs. (Def. Opp. 12-13).

: Plaintiff Lenox Freeman ("Plaintiff" or "Freeman") moves for reconsideration of the Court's Memorandum and Order dated March 13, 2019, Freeman v. River Manor Corp., 2019 WL 1177717 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2019), granting Defendants' motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and New York Labor Law ("NYLL") overtime and other related wage claims. The Court writes to clarify its prior decision and also acknowledges that its decision overlooked certain facts and case law.