CA Supreme Court finds workers can file class action, even if arbitration agreement signed
Workers can file class-action lawsuits alleging labor code
violations even if they had signed agreements with their employers
requiring them to arbitrate such disputes, the California Supreme Court found yesterday. Justice Carlos Moreno noted that these disputes generally involve low-paid workers who, if they are aware of their right to overtime, may be deterred by fear of losing their job, prospects for promotion and income due to costs of litigation, travel and time off to pursue the case.
The case (Gentry v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles) would affect at least hundreds and perhaps thousands of
California employers, allowing their workers to pursue class actions
before an arbitrator, said the lawyer for the plaintiff, a sales manager at a Los Angeles Circuit City store.
Circuit City wrongly classified the plaintiff's job as exempt from overtime. They then Circuit City referred the case to arbitration, citing an agreement the
employee had accepted after he was hired, and invoked a provision of
the arbitration agreement that required each employee's claim to be
considered individually, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
