Employers Can’t Force Waiver of California PAGA Claims

The Federal Arbitration Act doesn’t preempt a California court-created rule that an employee’s right to bring representative wage and hour claims under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act can’t be waived by a private arbitration agreement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Sept. 28 (Sakkab v. Luxottica Retail N. Am., Inc., 2015 BL 313380, 9th Cir., 13-55184, 9/28/15).

The opinion written by Judge Milan Smith said the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, Cal., correctly held the federal arbitration law doesn’t preempt PAGA claims where an employee acts ...