- Arbitration clauses not sacrosanct
No doubt the Labor Day timing was just coincidental, but the California Supreme Court gave workers - and certainly some attorneys - a pretty big victory. It's allowing them to bring class-action lawsuits alleging labor code violations even if they had signed agreements with their employers requiring them to arbitrate any disputes. The decision centers on an agreement that Circuit City asked employees to sign. Like other such agreements at companies all over the country, it waived their right to file a class action and limiting damages, recovery of attorneys' fees and the statute of limitations. In a 4-3 ruling, the high court said that many of these agreements undermined employees' "unwaivable statutory rights" and "pose a serious obstacle to the enforcement of the state's overtime laws." From the LAT:
The high court did not issue a blanket ban on arbitration provisions like the one Gentry signed but remanded his case to the trial court, instructing it to void such agreements if employees could more effectively pursue their rights through class actions. Circuit City pointed to the lack of a blanket ban as a silver lining in an otherwise disappointing loss and "expect[s] that when the Superior Court considers this case in light of the Supreme Court's new decision, it will once again fully enforce our arbitration agreement," company spokesman Jim Babb said.
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| 02:35 PM Aug 30, 2007 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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