News & Analysis as of

Arbitration Contract Terms 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

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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Contemporaneous Onboarding Documents May Invalidate An Employer’s “Squeaky Clean” Arbitration Agreement

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare staffing company, believed that it had a “squeaky clean” Arbitration Agreement with its employees. ...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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

The Importance of Having an Up-To-Date Employment Arbitration Agreement

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

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

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Plaintiffs, Not Defendants, Must Initiate Arbitration

Arzate v. Ace American Insurance Company, — Cal. Rptr. 3d — (2025) began as a familiar case: plaintiffs signed arbitration agreements (“Agreement”) with their employer that contained a class action waiver. But when a dispute...more

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

Second Circuit Renders Important Decision on Vested Retiree Benefits

In a significant ruling on February 5, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed the enforceability of an arbitration provision in an expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the case of Xerox...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

K&L Gates LLP

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

K&L Gates LLP on

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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

“Prejudice” No Longer an Element to Determine Waiver of Right to Compel Arbitration

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP on

In 2003, the California Supreme Court adopted a stringent test to determine whether an employer had waived its right to compel arbitration of an employee’s claims.  The most critical, and often determinative, factor was...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Good News for Employers: California Enforces Arbitration Agreement In Favor of Non-Signatory Related Entities

CDF Labor Law LLP on

Frequently, employment arbitration agreements are written with the intent to apply to future disputes between an employee, the employer and the employer’s parent and sister companies....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Arbitration Agreement Enforceable By Non-Signatory Alleged Joint-Employers

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Employees who sign an arbitration agreement with one company cannot avoid arbitration with related defendant-companies by arguing they were not parties to the agreement. The California Court of Appeal held that claims against...more

Lewitt Hackman

Beyond the Contract: Non-Signatories to an Arbitration Agreement Can Compel Arbitration

Lewitt Hackman on

Departing from the ruling in Soltero v. Precise Distribution earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal in the Second District in Gonzalez v. Nowhere Beverly Hills LLC, created a split of authority regarding an alleged...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Severing Unconscionable Terms in Employment Arbitration Agreements

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

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

California Appellate Decision Raises New Considerations for Arbitration Agreements

A California appellate court recently denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding the agreement unconscionable in part because it (1) applied to all claims rather than just those arising from employment, (2) was unlimited...more

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

California Supreme Court Says Severing Unconscionable Terms From Arbitration Agreements Is a Question of Fairness

On July 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of California issued a decision that could provide courts in the state with significant discretion to refuse to enforce employment arbitration agreements even if only one term is determined...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Previous Arbitration Agreements Are Potentially Unenforceable Against Re-Hired Employees

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

Miller Canfield

Arbitrator's Power to Alter Discipline Affirmed by Michigan Court, with a Caveat on CBA Clarity

Miller Canfield on

Can a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) limit the authority of a labor arbitrator to determine the appropriateness of a disciplinary punishment? It can, but only when the CBA clearly says so, reiterated the Michigan Court...more

Genova Burns LLC

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment, Not Discrimination

Genova Burns LLC on

Arbitration agreements are a powerful tool used by many employers to compel the utilization of arbitration as a means of alternative dispute resolution. Arbitration allows the parties of a claim to resolve the dispute...more

Lathrop GPM

California Federal Court Declares Arbitration Clause Unenforceable

Lathrop GPM on

In Munoz, v. Earthgrains Distribution, LLC, 2023 WL 5986129 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 13, 2023), the plaintiffs, members of a class of independent distributors of baked goods for Earthgrains and other bakeries, alleged that they were...more

Genova Burns LLC

Timing is Everything: NJ Appellate Division Compels Arbitration of Employee’s Sex Harassment Claims

Genova Burns LLC on

On October 26, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division in Rourke v. Herr Foods, Inc. once again confirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts the 2019 amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)...more

Littler

Savings Clause Results in Oregon Supreme Court Affirming Enforceability of Arbitration Provision

Littler on

On July 8, 2022, in Gist v. ZoAn Management, Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the trial court and court of appeals granting the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration.  The court concluded that...more

FordHarrison

Third Circuit Rules That Arbitration Agreements in CBAs Without Durational Clauses do not Survive the Expiration of the CBAs

FordHarrison on

Executive Summary: It is quite rare when a three-judge panel on a court of appeals overrules prior precedent. Yet, that is exactly what happened on March 30, 2022, in Pittsburgh Mailers Union Local 22 v. PG Publishing Co....more

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