World Financial Associates Avoid Arbitration In Wage, Hour Suit

World Financial Group Insurance Agency Inc. must defend wage and hour claims brought by a proposed class of sales associates in court, rather than in arbitration, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled.

The company only presented the plaintiff associates with the signature page of the arbitration agreement, so they didn’t have actual notice that they were agreeing to arbitrate employment disputes, Judge Edward M. Chen said for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

World Financial unsuccessfully argued that the signature page started with “Paragraph O,” which purportedly should have put new associates on notice ...