Category: Arbitration: Employment

Arbitration/Employment/Enforceability: Fifth District Holds Agreement For Advisory Arbitration Is Not Enforceable Under The California Arbitration Act

But Federal Law Is Not So Clear      The issue in Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 v. City of Porterville, Case No. F067635 (5th Dist. Oct. 2, 2014) (Kane, Levy, Detjen) (unpublished) is whether an agreement between a city and a union to submit an employment dispute to advisory arbitration is enforceable under the […]

Consumer Arbitration/Employees/Enforceability/ Fees: CCP 1284.3 Prohibits Fee Shifting In Employee Arbitrations But Not On The Facts Of This Case

Court of Appeal Was Unable To Find Precedent On Whether CCP 1284.3, Pertaining To Consumer Arbitrations, Applies To Employer-Employee Arbitrations, And Reaches Its Own Conclusion      On March 12, 2014, I posted about an earlier Court of Appeal decision involving the same parties and the same arbitration agreement as here, in which the Court held […]

Arbitration/Employment/Waiver/Class Action: Following Iskanian, 2nd District Div 2 Holds Employee Cannot Waive PAGA Representative Claims

Also,There Was No Basis Here For Sending The PAGA Representative Claims To Arbitration Rather Than Court          In Jones v. J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc., Case No. B246674 (2/4 Sept. 5, 2014) (Edmon, Willhite, Manella) (unpublished), plaintiff brought a representative claim under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), alleging employer J.C. […]

Arbitration/Employment/Enforceability/Unconscionability: 2nd District, Div. 1 Reverses Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration (Published), And 4th District, Div. 3 Affirms Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration (Unpublished) In Employment Cases

The Divergent Outcomes Are Explained By The Peculiar Facts (Of Course) 1.  Cruise v. Kroger Co., B248430 (2/3 Aug. 27, 2014) (Aldrich, Klein – third member of panel unavailable).      Employer Kroger Co., parent of Ralphs, which had loaded an arbitration policy with one-sided provisions favoring the employer, moved to compel arbitration of an employment […]

News/Employment/Arbitration: Outcomes Of Employment Arbitration Versus Litigation Are Quantified In Recent Study

August 19, 2014 · Arbitration: Employment, News

Mark D. Gough Of The Cornell University School Of Industrial & Labor Relations Has Studied The Outcomes      Mark D. Gough has published in the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law the results of a study of some 700 employment discrimination cases – and the results  are striking, whether looked at from the perspective […]

News/Employment/Civil Rights: Executive Order Limits Pre-Dispute Arbitration Clauses For Federal Contracts Exceeding $1 Million In Title VII And Sexual Assault/Harassment Cases

Fair Play and Safe Workplaces Executive Order Is Announced July 31, 2014      One of the impactful judicial trends in recent years has been the expanded use of arbitration in employment disputes.  Counter to that judicial trend is the recent Executive Order announced July 31, 2014 by the White House.      Section 6 of the […]

Arbitration/Gateway Issues/Waiver/Employment: Court Of Appeal Affirms Order Denying Employer’s Motion Seeking To Compel Kurt The CyberGuy To Arbitrate

Opinion Addresses Substantive Versus Procedural Arbitrability – And Who Gets To Decide      Kurt Knutsson, aka Kurt the CyberGuy, and his company, Woojivas, Incorporated, filed claims against KTLA, LLC, a television broadcaster, for breach of contract, misappropriating CyberGuy’s name and likeness, unfair business practices, and age discrimination.  The company brought a motion to compel arbitration […]

Employment/Construction of Arbitration Agreement: Fourth District, Div. 3 Certifies Rebolledo v. Tilly’s, Inc. For Publication

Court Agreed With Trial Court That Parties’ Arbitration Agreement Expressly Excluded Statutory Claims From The Arbitration Obligation.      On July 14, 2014, I blogged about Rebolledo v. Tilly’s, Inc., in which the Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 3, affirmed the trial court’s order denying an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of an employee’s putative […]

Arbitration/Employment/Unconscionability/Severance: Court Affirms Order Denying Employer’s Petition To Compel Arbitration

  Permeated With Unconscionability, Agreement Did Not Require Severance.      Mr. Ryan, an employee in the construction industry, claimed that he was fired in a retaliatory move by his employer.  The employer petitioned to compel arbitration.  The trial court denied the request, finding the mandatory employment arbitration agreement contained unconscionable provisions, and refusing to sever […]

Arbitration/Employment/Class/Waiver: Second District, Div. 1 Follows Supreme Court Iskanian Precedent Holding That Right To Bring A Representative Action Under The Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Can’t Be Waived

Waiver Is Contrary To Public Policy And PAGA Dispute Is Between Employer And The State.      “The sole issue presented on appeal is the enforceability of a waiver of the right to bring a representative action . . . under PAGA . . . That issue has recently been resolved against Pep Boys by the […]