Garrido v. Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP

Plaintiff filed a class action suit against his employer, alleging various Labor Code violations and unfair business practice. Plaintiff had entered into an agreement with his employer, providing that all disputes arising out of his employment would be resolved by arbitration, and the agreement prohibited class arbitration. The trial court denied the employer's motion to compel arbitration under the test laid out in Gentry v. Superior Court. After the trial court's ruling, the Supreme Court held, in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, that Gentry’s rule against employment class waivers was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. 1 et seq. The court concluded, however, that this matter is not subject to the FAA and that Gentry’s holding has not been overturned under California law in situations where the FAA does not apply. Accordingly, the court found that the agreement’s class waiver provision is unenforceable. Neither party asserts that class arbitration is appropriate. Therefore, the court affirmed the trial court’s order denying the motion to compel arbitration. View "Garrido v. Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP" on Justia Law