After years of appellate cases and several rulings holding California employers to the very strict payment standards of the California Arbitration Act (CAA), the California Supreme Court has, for the first time, addressed...more
8/20/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Equitable Relief ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fees ,
Late Payments ,
Preemption ,
Remand ,
State Arbitration Acts ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Stays
Employers have long been scrutinized for perceived unequal bargaining power when it comes to enforcement of company-drafted arbitration agreements. Indeed, both the California legislature and the courts have aimed to protect...more
7/15/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
False Statements ,
Human Resources Professionals
Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare staffing company, believed that it had a “squeaky clean” Arbitration Agreement with its employees. ...more
7/9/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unconscionable Contracts
In the recent decision in Sanders v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the California Court of Appeal reinforced the consequences for employers who fail to timely pay arbitration fees in employment disputes....more
6/10/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Class Action ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Wage and Hour
Until the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana in 2022, California law had established that Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claims could not be subject to binding arbitration....more
Less than a year ago, the California Supreme Court in Ramirez v. Charter Communications, Inc. opined, in the context of employment arbitration agreements, that there is no bright line rule that requires a court to refuse...more
The case of Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation Services LTD., LLC typifies the reason employers and employment counsel must stay on top of arbitration case developments....more
4/1/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the “Act”), a federal law, is unique for its role in overriding the policy in favor of the enforcement of arbitration agreements. The Act was...more
Readers of this blog are, by now, aware of California’s judicial and legislative hostility toward arbitration. Over the last few months, however, employers have seen a surprising number of appellate victories in their...more
There is no greater threat to an employment arbitration than Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.98, which mandates that the party who drafted the arbitration agreement pay the fees and costs of the arbitration within 30...more
Prior to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises Inc. v. Moriana, California courts did not consider the components of a Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claim. ...more
2/20/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Representatives ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
Tell me if you have heard this one before: ten companies are sued by a former employee as “joint employers”, even though the employee technically worked for, and signed a binding arbitration agreement with, only one of them....more
2/12/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Estoppel ,
Joint Employers ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Signatories ,
Split of Authority
In 2022, Congress enacted the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act” (the “Act”) which provides that, at the election of the person alleging conduct constituting a sexual harassment dispute or...more
In August 2000, the California Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that changed the face of employment arbitration agreements going forward. That case, known as Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services,...more
Arbitration agreements, at their core, are contracts. As with any contract, there must be “mutuality” or, more colloquially, a “meeting of the minds” on what the contract is intended to encompass. For this reason, employment...more
Over the last decade, the use of e-signatures has become the norm for human resources departments when onboarding new employees. The advent of resources like DocuSign, Taleo, BabooHR, and others have made this process simple,...more
Despite its best efforts, the California Legislature has been unable to substantially curtail the popularity of employment arbitrations in California. The hostility to employment arbitration remains evident, however, among...more
In 2022, Congress enacted the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act” (the “Act”) which provides that, at the election of the person alleging conduct constituting a sexual harassment dispute or...more
Following the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Moriana v. Viking River Cruises, California courts were tasked with the open question of whether an “aggrieved” employee whose individual Private Attorneys...more
8/2/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Employment Litigation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Uber ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
In law school, aspiring attorneys are taught fundamental concepts related to contracts, including “agency”, “third party beneficiary”, and “equitable estoppel”, terms which relate to determining who should be subject to the...more
The saga of challenges to mandatory employment arbitration agreements is almost over. After three years of challenges, the United States Chamber of Commerce successfully appealed the enactment and enforcement of California’s...more
Employers throughout California have been keenly awaiting the final decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the United States Chamber of Commerce’s challenge to California Labor Code section 432.6,...more
Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) actions are the proverbial boogeyman to California employers. On June 15, 2022, the United States Supreme Court reined in some of this statute’s bite by holding that “aggrieved...more
Since the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC in 2014, it has been widely understood that Private Attorneys’ General Act (“PAGA”) actions cannot be subject to employment...more
Businesses and attorneys alike have kept a close eye on the developments surrounding the challenge to California Assembly Bill 51 (now codified as Labor Code section 432.6). Most recently, in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit...more
12/28/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws