Aveda Beauty Student’s Pay Lawsuit Sent to Arbitration

An Aveda cosmetology student seeking class status for working long, unpaid hours had her lawsuit swept out of federal court and into arbitration.

Princess Sakyi signed a broad and inclusive arbitration agreement when she enrolled in classes at Aveda Institutes South, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in her April 25 opinion dismissing the lawsuit. Sakyi had argued the class action waiver within the agreement rendered the whole agreement invalid. But the viability of the class action clause is a “gateway question” that the language of the agreement places squarely with an ...