Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: “Accidental Arbitration” -- A New Theory that Would Rein in Consumer Arbitration Clauses and the Scope of the FAA
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Discussion of Industry and Consumer Perspectives on Mass Arbitration
California Employment News: The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
Podcast: California Employment News - The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
#WorkforceWednesday: NLRB Focuses on Severance Agreements, Supreme Court Opens Overtime to HCEs, Ninth Circuit Rejects CA's Mandatory Arbitration Ban - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Rules on PAGA, Fifth Circuit Rules on COVID-19 Under WARN, Illinois Expands Bereavement Leave - Employment Law This Week®
California Employment News: US Supreme Court “Viking River” Decision Brings PAGA Relief for CA Employers
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC COVID-19 Charges Surge, NYC’s Pay Transparency Law, SCOTUS Considers PAGA - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: New Law on Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims, Cyber War Ramps Up, Salaried Nonexempt Status - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now VI-114-Banning Arbitration of Sexual Harassment/Assault Claims
Update and Discussion on Legal and Practical Issues
DE Under 3: OFCCP Contractor Portal & Request for Comments for Functional Affirmative Action Programs (FAAPs)
Employment Law This Week®: FAA Arguably Preempts California Law, New CA Employment Laws for 2020, CA Consumer Privacy Act Amended
On behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), Ballard Spahr has submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in Coinbase, Inc., et al. v. Kramer, et al., No....more
The U.S. Supreme Court has given businesses with California employees the option (at least for now) to avoid employee-initiated court proceedings under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). On June 15, 2022, the...more
Takeaway: One would think that “public injunctive relief” – especially under California law – would be a broad remedy. Not so, according to the majority opinion in Hodges v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, --- F.4th...more
For the second time in two years, the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California law (the “McGill Rule”) which invalidates arbitration agreements that waive the...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is an independent regulatory body, overseeing securities firms and their brokers and other registered personnel. Arbitration of employment disputes in the arbitration...more
Briefing is now complete on the petitions for certiorari in the Blair v. Rent-A-Center appeals that could produce the next blockbuster U.S. Supreme Court arbitration decision. At issue is whether the Federal Arbitration Act...more
On January 17, 2020, the Ninth Circuit denied the defendants’ petitions for panel and en banc rehearing in the Blair v. Rent a Center appeals, setting the stage for possible U.S. Supreme Court review of the California Supreme...more
Yesterday, a federal judge from the Eastern District of California granted a temporary restraining order preventing California from enforcing Assembly Bill (AB) 51. ...more
If your business operates in California, you need to be aware of AB 51, a law that will take effect January 1, 2020. AB 51 precludes employers from requiring any applicant or employee, as a condition of employment, continued...more
The inclusion in arbitration clauses of a waiver of public injunctive relief has gained popularity generally, but such a waiver is currently unenforceable in California. However, California’s controversial precedent on the...more
As we recently advised you , on September 9, 2019, the Ninth Circuit ordered the plaintiffs in the Blair v. Rent-A-Center appeals to respond to the defendants’ petitions for rehearing, which ask the court en banc to overturn...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011) caused a shockwave in California’s class action bar when it held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempted California’s former...more
On June 28, 2019, the Ninth Circuit issued three decisions confirming that the FAA does not preempt California’s so-called “McGill” rule. As a result, the court invalidated provisions of the arbitration agreements in each...more
Relying on the California Supreme Court's 2017 decision in McGill v. Citibank, class action plaintiffs increasingly have sought to circumvent class action waivers in arbitration agreements by filing lawsuits in California. ...more
Arbitration is a creature of contract, and an arbitrator’s powers are in effect defined by the parties’ arbitration agreement. Paradoxically, although an arbitration agreement can be written (double-spaced) on one side of a...more
The California Supreme Court has struck back in its ongoing battle with the United States Supreme Court as to the enforceability of arbitration agreements in consumer contracts. On April 7, 2017, in McGill v. Citibank, the...more
Businesses across the country regularly bemoan the time and expense of litigation. Even when businesses are successful in defending non-meritorious consumer claims alleging unfair or deceptive practices, false advertising,...more
Takeaway: Businesses operating in California now face another hurdle in drafting enforceable arbitration agreements. The California Supreme Court has invalidated a provision in an aggressive class action waiver purporting to...more
The California Supreme Court recently created yet another exception to the enforceability of arbitration agreements with class action waivers, and in doing so generated more uncertainty about what companies should (and should...more
An arbitration agreement preventing individuals from seeking injunctive relief was void as contrary to California public policy and could not be enforced under California law, the California Supreme Court recently determined...more
On April 6, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in McGill v. Citibank, finding that a pre-dispute arbitration agreement was unenforceable to the extent it required the plaintiff to waive her right to seek...more
“Agreements to arbitrate claims for public injunctive relief under [California’s Consumers Legal Remedy Act or Unfair Competition Law], or the false advertising law are not enforceable in California.” The California Supreme...more
In an April 5, 2017 unanimous opinion, the California Supreme Court (the “Court”) held that private arbitration agreements which prohibit public injunctive relief in any forum are contrary to California public policy and...more
In a closely-watched case, the California Supreme Court recently held in McGill v. Citibank, N.A. that arbitration clauses that foreclose a plaintiff’s right to pursue public injunctive relief in any forum are invalid and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: No California contractual provision, including one in an arbitration agreement, can waive the statutory right to seek injunctive relief to protect the general public. McGill v. Citibank, N.A. (April 6,...more