James Michalski is a Partner in the
Los Angeles office.
Landmark California Supreme Court Ruling Is Positive for
Employers in Class Action Cases But Not PAGA Claims
In an opinion filed June 23, 2014, Iskanian v. CLS
Transportation Los Angeles, LLC,1 (Iskanian) the
California Supreme Court gave employers some relief when faced with
class action suits. The court's significant decision will allow
employers to proceed with employment arbitration agreements that
include class action waivers after the court ruled that they are
fully enforceable and no test of equities must be pursued.
In Iskanian, the court ruled, among other things, that: (1) the
Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts prior California case law
finding class action waivers unenforceable; (2) class action
waivers do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and,
also for this reason, are enforceable; (3) employees' right to
representative actions under the Private Attorney General Act
(PAGA)
