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Arbitration Agreements Employee Rights

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Arbitration Agreement Was Unconscionable

Velarde v. Monroe Operations, LLC, 111 Cal. App. 5th 1009 (2025) - The Court noted “[t]here was extensive evidence of procedural unconscionability, with an adhesive contract, buried in a stack of 31 documents to be signed...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Surprise! Misleading Statements and Time Pressure May Render an Employer’s Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable

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

Dickinson Wright

Start the Clock—The Case for Including Contractual Limitations Periods in Employment Agreements.

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Contractual limitations periods provide parties on both sides of an agreement certainty regarding the filing of a potential action. But many employers do not know that they may include such contractual limitations periods in...more

Payne & Fears

Employers: How You Present an Arbitration Agreement Is Just as Important as What the Agreement Says

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Employers in California often present new employees with an arbitration agreement, usually at onboarding. Employers often — or at least they should — take great care when drafting arbitration agreements to ensure they comply...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Employment Litigation Roundup: June 2025

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In Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G. L. c. 149, § 24L (the “Act”), which generally prohibits noncompete and...more

Clark Hill PLC

10 Compelling Reasons for Employment Arbitration: Preventing Class and Collective Actions

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This fifth installment of our series on employment arbitration delves into how an arbitration program can effectively eliminate multi-plaintiff, class, and collective actions brought by employees. The impact of eliminating...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

California Employers Using Arbitration Agreements Want To Take Note of New Guidance From a Recent California Appellate Case

California employers often require their new hires and current employees to sign arbitration agreements ("agreements") as a condition of employment or continued employment. To be enforceable, these agreements require that the...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

If You’re Experiencing a Massive Jury Verdict, Hang Up and Dial 911!

A California jury did it again! Last Thursday, a Los Angeles jury awarded $27.5 million to a former chief nursing officer of a hospital for the alleged post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological problems she...more

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

Clark Hill PLC

10 Compelling Reasons for Employment Arbitration: Tackling Litigation Imbalance

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This third installment of the 10 Compelling Reasons for Employment Arbitration explores the impact of an arbitration agreement on a plaintiff’s litigation strategy. As discussed herein, arbitration programs can tamp down a...more

Clark Hill PLC

10 Compelling Reasons for Employment Arbitration: Part 1

Clark Hill PLC on

There may be no single, more efficient step an employer can take to manage litigation risk from its workforce than a properly administered mandatory employee arbitration program. An employee arbitration program is a powerful...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

AAA Updates Employment Arbitration Rules as of May 1, 2025

CDF Labor Law LLP on

The American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) recently updated its “Employment/Workplace Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures” (formerly entitled the “Employment Arbitration Rules”), effective May 1, 2025. The updates to...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

No Individual Claim, No Problem? The California Supreme Court Takes on Circuit Split on Headless PAGA Claims

The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) grants private individuals the authority to sue on behalf of the state of California for employer violations of the California Labor Code. The primary purpose of PAGA is not to...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Major Changes to AAA Employment Arbitration Rules: What Employers and Litigants Need to Know

Effective May 1, 2025, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) implemented significant revisions to AAA Employment/Workplace Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures. According to the AAA, these revisions aim to...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

When Headless PAGAs Attack!

As we reported here, a split in authority has developed in the California Court of Appeal regarding what to do when an employer moves to compel arbitration of a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that is “headless”—that is,...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Lowering the Legal Standard for Establishing Workplace Harassment Claims

Amundsen Davis LLC on

In the wake the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 2024 decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, some federal courts feel compelled or justified applying the same rationale to lower the standard to prove up workplace harassment...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

To Sever or Not to Sever, That is the Question For Courts Reviewing Employment Arbitration Agreements for Enforceability

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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Sexual Harassment Claims Preclude Arbitration Even if the Federal Arbitration Act is Not Explicitly Invoked in an Arbitration...

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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Appeals Court Decides PAGA Lawsuit Can’t Be Sent to Arbitration Without Individual Claims

A California court of appeal recently upheld a trial court’s ruling that rejected a sanitation company’s effort to compel arbitration of individual claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), where 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

Littler

The Sixth Circuit Rules on Arbitration Clause Enforcement

Littler on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that an arbitration provision in a plaintiff’s employment contract is binding and enforceable, even if the employer did not explain the provision or recommend the...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Holds Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable Against Spouse of Former Employee

Carlton Fields on

In Lubin v. Starbucks Corp., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered defendant Starbucks’ appeal of an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit alleging that Starbucks sent deficient...more

Cooley LLP

From Employee to Plaintiff: What to Do When You Get Sued by a Former Employee in the US

Cooley LLP on

Getting sued by a former employee can be a stressful experience for any employer, especially for a company that has just started to grow its workforce and is not experienced with these kinds of claims. Unfortunately, the cost...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

January 2025 California Employment Law Notes

We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more

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