Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court has held that, under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), an employee does not lose the ability to pursue representative claims as an “aggrieved employee” by virtue of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis. On Thursday, September 5, 2019, the Legislature passed AB 51. This bill would ban mandatory arbitration agreements with respect to claims under the Labor Code and the Fair Employment and Housing Act while...more
10/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Freelance Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Supremacy Clause
Seyfarth Synopsis: Everything was smooth sailing with your latest greatest arbitration agreement, but then an employee refused to get on board. What do you do now? Keep reading for a primer on navigating some murky waters....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit, following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, has upheld the validity of class-action waivers in Uber’s arbitration agreement, and has held that a named...more
10/10/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Illusory Contracts ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Ridesharing ,
Sharing Economy ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis. Pending California legislation would make a mandatory arbitration agreement an unlawful practice under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and a crime. How could that be consistent with the Federal...more
8/7/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
FEHA ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Pending Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Supremacy Clause
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs cannot circumvent arbitration agreements by characterizing claims for statutory damages as claims for civil penalties. The purported PAGA exemption from arbitration agreements applies only to...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
4/13/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Citibank ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
CLRA ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Preemption ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has held that unless a collective bargaining agreement includes an explicitly stated, clear and unmistakable, intent to waive the right to a judicial forum for statutory causes of...more
2/13/2017
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Grievance Process ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Lack of Specificity ,
Motion to Compel ,
Nurses ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Many companies doing business in California have had difficulty persuading California courts to enforce their arbitration agreements. Those courts often have used the doctrine of unconscionability to deny enforcement on the...more