Arbitration

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On September 28, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1384, which (1) expands the California Labor Commissioner’s representation to arbitrations for claimants who cannot afford counsel, (2) requires employers to serve petitions to compel arbitration on the Labor Commissioner, and (3) allows the Labor Commissioner to represent claimants in proceedings to determine whether arbitration…

“What if neither party to an arbitration agreement places initials next to a jury waiver contained in the agreement, even though the drafter included lines for their initials?” asked the California Court of Appeal in Martinez v. BaronHR, Inc.,Cal. App. LEXIS 631 (2020).

The employee in Martinez was given several employment-related documents, including…

On June 8, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the employer’s petition for certiorari in OTO, LLC v. Kho.

As background, in 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled in OTO that the arbitration agreement at issue was not enforceable because the agreement was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. The procedural unconscionability finding generally focused…

On January 31, 2020, a U.S. District Court preliminarily enjoined the enforcement of Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) against arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  As enacted, AB 51 would prohibit employers from conditioning employment (including continued employment) or employment-related benefits on an individual signing a mandatory arbitration agreement for disputes arising…

The State of California has filed a notice of appeal of the district court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction enjoining the State from enforcing Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) against employment arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Please find the full article on the Jackson Lewis Publications page here.

On January 31, 2020, the district court in Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. v. Becerra, et al., E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:19-cv-2456, granted the request for a preliminary injunction enjoining the State of California (the State) from enforcing Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) against arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration…

The district court in Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. v. Becerra, et al., E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:19-cv-2456, granted the request for a preliminary injunction enjoining the State of California from enforcing Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) with respect to arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

AB 51…

Earlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California heard oral arguments on whether the court should enter a preliminary injunction preventing the State of California (State) from enforcing AB 51 while the court resolves the underlying challenge to the new law on the merits. See Chamber of Commerce of the United…

California employers are not alone as they wrestle with AB 51’s January 1, 2020 new law on mandatory arbitration agreements. (For background on AB 51 see our article). On December 6, 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations filed suit against the State of California to have AB 51 declared preempted…