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Arbitration Agreements California Employment Contract

CDF Labor Law LLP

Unconscionable Employment Terms In Onboarding Documents Can Void Arbitration Agreements

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On June 13, 2025, a California Court of Appeal struck down an arbitration agreement because of unconscionable terms entered by the parties in a separate employment agreement, governing different dispute resolution fora and...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Employer Victory in Motion to Compel Arbitration

On May 19, 2025, Proskauer attorneys successfully compelled to arbitration an employment discrimination lawsuit that had been filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. While the former employee claimed that she never signed...more

Offit Kurman

Key Trends in PAGA Arbitration Decisions: Insights for Employers and Legal Counsel

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The proliferation of wage and hour litigation in California and recent significant changes to the law have created uncertainty for employers and their lawyers alike. Both recent PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act of 2004)...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

For At Least One Employer, Reliance on an Outdated Arbitration Agreement Proved to be a Losing Gamble

As we have reported time and again, California courts have applied extra scrutiny to employee arbitration agreements in recent years, and have not hesitated to deny arbitration where there is a reasonable basis for doing so. ...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

California Court Creates Appellate Split On ‘Headless’ PAGA Claims

A recent decision from the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District has created a split on whether employees can bring “headless” Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims.  “Headless” PAGA refers to the...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Employer Not Required to Initiate Arbitration Following Court-Ordered Arbitration

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The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District recently issued a clarifying decision in Michelle Arzate, et al. v. ACE American Insurance Company, addressing which party is responsible for initiating arbitration...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Arbitration Fee Payment Statute Does Not Apply To Post-Dispute Arbitration Agreements

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

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Choice-of-Law Provisions Cannot Circumvent Ending Forced Arbitration Act, Court of Appeal Rules

On February 3, 2025, the California First District Court of Appeal held that a party to an arbitration agreement cannot rely on a choice-of-law provision to wire around the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Plaintiffs Are Responsible for Commencing Court-Ordered Arbitration

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The California Court of Appeal held that after the employer-defendant successfully moved to compel arbitration of the plaintiffs’ employment-related claims, the employer-defendant did not waive its right to arbitration by...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Does an Arbitration Agreement Require the Employer’s Signature?  Read the Fine Print

The California Court of Appeal recently reminded employers in an unpublished (but nonetheless chastening) opinion of the importance of carefully drafting arbitration agreements. In Pich v. LaserAway, LLC et al, the court...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Another Arbitration Agreement Bites the Dust!

The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here. This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

PAGA Plaintiffs Cannot Avoid Arbitration by Bringing a “Headless PAGA Lawsuit”

California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) allows “aggrieved employees” to sue their employers for Labor Code violations to collect civil penalties “on behalf of himself or herself and other current or former...more

K&L Gates LLP

California Court of Appeal Ends Headless PAGA Actions in Leeper v. Shipt

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The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, in Leeper v. Shipt, Inc., No. B339670, 2024 WL 5251619 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2024) (Leeper) issued a significant decision benefiting employers seeking to enforce...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Employer Strikes Gold: California Court of Appeals Reverses Dismissal of Mining Company’s Arbitration Agreement 

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In a recent unpublished California appellate court decision, the Court unanimously reversed the lower court’s ruling that an agreement to arbitrate contained in an employee handbook was unenforceable....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Doing Business in California Guide Updated for 2025

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The allure of doing business in California is undeniable. It is the world’s fifth (and moving towards fourth) largest economy and a market of over 39 million people. For employers, however, California presents unique...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

You Can’t Spell “Aggrieved Employees” Without an “I”: PAGA Claims Cannot be Headless

In yet another attempt to avoid arbitration agreements, plaintiffs’ lawyers in the wake of the blockbuster court decisions in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana and Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. began filing so-called...more

Payne & Fears

[Webinar] New CA Employment Laws 2025: Are You Prepared? - December 4th, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm PT

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Join us for a lively discussion of critical year-end updates for California employers. We will address new legislation and key case rulings. Topics include: - Key bills relating to freelance workers, “captive audience”...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

[Webinar] Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back to the Office – The Top 10 Current Legal Headaches for California Employers...

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California employers face a constantly evolving legal landscape, with compliance challenges that can lead to significant financial and operational risks. Join CDF Partners Todd Wulffson and Alessandra Whipple during this...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Looking Ahead: New California Employment Laws for 2024

In the past few months, California Governor Newsom has signed numerous new employment laws affecting California employers of all sizes. Below is a summary of some of the laws going into effect in 2024....more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

But we have an arbitration clause: Considerations when hiring Californians

It’s 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The human resources (HR) director calls and tells you that your company—or if you are outside counsel, your client—is finally expanding their sales operation to the West Coast. As part of that...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

California Court of Appeal Holds That Onboarding Documents Affect Enforceability of Otherwise Valid Arbitration Agreement

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Q. As part of the employee onboarding process, my company requests that employees sign several documents, including an arbitration agreement and confidentiality agreement, on the first day of employment. Is the arbitration...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Discretion: The Better Part of Valor in Defending Against PAGA Claims

CDF Labor Law LLP on

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, employers have been implementing and enforcing arbitration agreements requiring employees to arbitrate their individual Private Attorneys’ General...more

Meyers Nave

Ninth Circuit Blocks California’s AB 51, Reopening the Door for Mandatory Employment Arbitration

Meyers Nave on

Mandatory Arbitration is Alive and Well - A big win for California employers was announced February 15, 2023, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Bonta found...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Ninth Circuit Rules California Employers Can Require Arbitration Agreements

Some good news for California employers. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that California employers can require employees and applicants to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of...more

Alston & Bird

Ninth Circuit Green-Lights Employers’ Continued Use of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California

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Our Labor & Employment Group examines why the Ninth Circuit reversed itself and ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a California law that prohibited arbitration agreements as a condition of employment....more

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