I have received a few questions from employers about the recent California Supreme Court decision in McGill v. Citibank, N.A.. The McGill case isn’t an employment law case, but rather deals with a consumer class action. In McGill, the California Supreme Court held that an arbitration provision that attempted to entirely waive an individual’s right to seek public injunctive relief (pursuant to the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), unfair competition law (UCL), and false advertising law) is unenforceable. In so holding, the Court noted that CLRA expressly declares that the waiver of its provisions by any consumer “is contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable”. The Court also stated that the primary form of relief under UCL is an injunction, and that false advertising law authorizes injunctive relief by any person suffering an injury. Accordingly, a primary purpose under CLRA, UCL, and false advertising law is to provide for injunctive relief to prohibit acts that threaten future injury to the general public, which purpose was barred by the arbitration provision in the consumer contract.
If you’re curious, the arbitration provision stated, in relevant part:
All Claims relating to your account or a prior related account, or our relationship are subject to arbitration, including Claims regarding the application, enforceability, or interpretation of this Agreement and this arbitration provision. All Claims are subject to arbitration, no matter what legal theory they are based on or what remedy (damages, or injunctive or declaratory relief) they seek. This includes Claims based on contract, tort (including intentional tort), fraud, agency, your or our negligence, statutory or regulatory provisions, or any other sources of law;… any Claims made independently or with other claims… Claims and remedies sought as part of a class action, private attorney general or other representative action are subject to arbitration on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis, and the arbitrator may award relief only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis… neither you, we nor any other person may pursue the Claim in arbitration as a class action, private attorney general action or other representative action, nor may such claim be pursued on your own or our behalf in any litigation or in any court.”
Although the McGill case deals with consumer class action issues, the case should serve as a reminder to employers that California courts are finding ways to subject arbitration agreements to an increasingly higher levels of scrutiny. In this regard, pending a reversal of recent trends by the united States Supreme Court, arbitration agreements for employment disputes should not restrict or limit the remedies available in any manner.
The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Harrison Finch.
This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of someone who lives in the trenches of the war that often is employment law–he/she may well be a little shell-shocked. So if you are thinking “woohoo, I just landed some free legal advice that will fix all my problems!”, think again. This is commentary, people, a sketchy overview of some current legal issue with a dose of humor, but commentary nonetheless; as if Dennis Miller were a lawyer…and still mildly amusing. No legal advice here; you would have to pay real US currency for that (unless you are my mom, and even then there are limits). But feel free to contact us with your questions and comments—who knows, we might even answer you. And if you want to spread this stuff around, feel free to do so, but please keep it in its present form (‘cause you can’t mess with this kind of poetry). Big news: Copyright 2016. All rights reserved; yep, all of them. If you have any questions about this article, contact the writer directly, assuming he or she was brave enough to attach their name to it.
If you have any questions regarding this blog or your life in general, contact Kelly O. Scott, Esq., commander in chief of this blog and Head Honcho (official legal title) of ECJ’s Employment Law Department.
- Partner
Kelly Scott is a partner and head of the firm’s Employment Law Department.
Mr. Scott is also a member of the Litigation Department and has practiced law since 1987. His areas of practice include representation of employers in all ...
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