A federal judge has halted California’s plans to outlaw mandatory employee arbitration agreements over “serious questions” on the merits of the law raised by business groups.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller of the Eastern District of California granted a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of Assembly Bill 51, a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October barring employers from demanding workers agree to settle claims privately as a condition of their employment.