Handy Loses Bid to Make Cleaner Arbitrate California Labor Suit

Handy Technologies Inc., an app-based handyman service, cannot force a worker to arbitrate claims filed on behalf of the state of California that challenge the platform’s flat-rate payment policy, a state appellate court in Los Angeles said Monday.

Patrick Pote sued Handy in 2018 under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, which deputizes aggrieved employees to sue for labor code violations on behalf of the state. Pote alleged he cleaned and repaired houses for flat rates through Handy, and that the company’s policy of charging a flat rate per job resulted in workers not being paid for overtime, missed rest and ...