Seyfarth Synopsis: A divided Ninth Circuit panel has held that employer attempts to impose mandatory arbitration agreements on applicants or employees can be criminally and civilly penalized in California, and thus struck...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court has held that, under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), an employee does not lose the ability to pursue representative claims as an “aggrieved employee” by virtue of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis. On Thursday, September 5, 2019, the Legislature passed AB 51. This bill would ban mandatory arbitration agreements with respect to claims under the Labor Code and the Fair Employment and Housing Act while...more
10/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Freelance Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Supremacy Clause
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court invalidated an employment arbitration agreement on August 29, 2019. At issue in OTO, LLC v. Kho was an agreement to arbitrate employment claims, including wage claims. Under the...more
9/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Berman Hearings ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fairness Standard ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Preemption ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs cannot circumvent arbitration agreements by characterizing claims for statutory damages as claims for civil penalties. The purported PAGA exemption from arbitration agreements applies only to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: No California contractual provision, including one in an arbitration agreement, can waive the statutory right to seek injunctive relief to protect the general public. McGill v. Citibank, N.A. (April 6,...more
4/13/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Citibank ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
CLRA ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Preemption ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court, in Sandquist v. Lebo Automotive, deviated from rulings of most federal circuit courts to hold that the question of “who decides” whether class arbitration is available—courts...more
8/2/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Harassment ,
Motion to Compel ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation
Since the California Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation that claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) are not subject to arbitration, California federal district courts have rejected...more