California Employment Attorney Blog

A California Court of Appeal issued a decision an employment law decision on arbitration this week that is remarkable in the clarity of its logic. In Roman v. Superior Court, the appellate court considered whether an agreement to arbitrate employment-related claims was enforceable. The arbitration agreement contained a clause providing, "I agree, in the event that I am hired by the company, that all disputes and claims that might arise out of my employment with the company will be submitted to binding arbitration."

The employee tried to prevent her case (disability discrimination) from being submitted to arbitration. She claimed that the agreement was one-sided, requiring only the employee, not the company, to arbitrate claims. She also argued that because the agreement was a pre-printed, "take it or leave it" document, it was a contract of adhesion.

Continue reading "California Court Upholds Arbitration Agreement (Finally)" »

The U.S. Supreme Court, in 14 Penn Plaza LLC et al. v. Pyett et al., a decision issued last week, held that a union and an employer can agree that employee discrimination claims will be submitted to arbitration only, and will not be filed in court. The Court overruled its 1974 decision that had long been relied upon by employment lawyers for the proposition that unions could not negotiate away an employee's right to sue in court for discrimination.

"As in any contractual negotiation, a union may agree to the inclusion of an arbitration provision in a collective-bargaining agreement in return for other concessions from the employer," the Court concluded. "Courts generally may not interfere in this bargained-for exchange."

The court's opinion involves federal anti-discrimination law, and thus is relevant to any California employer with a unionized workforce.

Continue reading "US Supreme Court Permits Unions to Agree to Arbitrate Discrimination Claims" »