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Arbitration California Employment Litigation

Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties... more +
Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties to arbitration agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is an alternative to litigation, but it shares many of the familiar features of litigation. Namely, parties to arbitration hold hearings before neutral decision-makers, present evidence and argue the merits of their position. Parties often choose arbitration due to its perceived advantages over litigation. Those perceived advantages include greater efficiency and flexibility, and lower costs. less -
Proskauer - California Employment Law

“Headless” PAGA Action May Proceed In Court

CRST Expedited, Inc. v. Superior Court, 2025 WL 1874891 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025) - Espiridion Sanchez filed this PAGA action against his former employer on behalf of himself and other allegedly “aggrieved employees.”...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

CA’s Fifth Appellate District Wades Into “Headless” PAGA Debate

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While we are waiting for the CA Supreme Court in Leeper v. Shipt to address whether “headless” PAGA claims (i.e., where PAGA representative plaintiffs disavow the “individual” portion of a PAGA claim) are a permissible end...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

PAGA Paraphrased – CRST Expedited, Inc. v. Super. Ct.

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The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that under pre-reform PAGA, headless PAGA actions in which plaintiffs seek civil penalties only on behalf of other employees and not for violations they personally experienced are...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

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

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

Blank Rome LLP

California Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on 30-Day Arbitration Fee Rule: Key Takeaways from Hohenshelt

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In our previous article, “Pay Up or Lawsuit Up: The 30-Day Countdown That’s Fueling Arbitration Disputes,” we explored the legal and practical challenges posed by California’s 30-day arbitration fee payment rule, codified in...more

Epstein Becker & Green

A Fact-Intensive Inquiry: How California Courts Are Resolving Authenticity Disputes of Electronically Signed Arbitration...

For more than a decade, California courts have wrestled with the challenge of how to resolve disputes over the authenticity of electronically signed arbitration agreements....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Will the California Supreme Court Put the Heads Back on Headless PAGA Suits?

Since our last coverage of “headless PAGA lawsuits”—i.e., lawsuits in which a plaintiff disavows his individual PAGA claim and opts to pursue the claim only on behalf of others—significant developments have further...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

Proskauer - California Employment Law

May 2025 California Employment Law Notes

We invite you to review our newly-posted, May 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Apple...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

Troutman Pepper Locke

Trump Administration Reissues 2019 Opinion Letter on Independent Contractors and Virtual Marketplace Companies

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The U.S. Department of Labor re-issued an Opinion Letter on the issue of independent contractor (IC) status of an on-demand virtual marketplace company (VMC) that refers end-market consumers to service providers who offer...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

PAGA Paraphrased – Williams v. Alacrity Solutions Group, Inc.

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PAGA claims brought under pre-reform PAGA must be brought within one year of a Labor Code violation experienced by the plaintiff and because a PAGA claim necessarily has both an individual and a non-individual component,...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

Offit Kurman

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

Offit Kurman on

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

Proskauer - California Employment Law

The Headless PAGA Saga Continues

On February 26, 2025, in Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation, Inc., the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District) issued the latest published decision addressing the practice of filing so-called “headless”...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

PAGA Update: Key Lessons for Defending and Settling PAGA Cases

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Two recent Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) cases underscore the importance of effectively using procedural motions in defending such cases. 1.  Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation Services LTD., LLC...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

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

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

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