When it comes to labor and employment law, California may as well be its own country. The intricacies of the Golden State’s worker-protection laws–from strictly enforced lunch and break periods to mandatory harassment training for all managers–are well documented. On Aug. 30 California’s Supreme Court added yet another wrinkle to the numerous dangers employers with operations in California face.
In Gentry v. Superior Court (Circuit City), the Supreme Court found that even if employees sign an otherwise valid, enforceable arbitration clause that bars them from bringing class claims, they might still be able to pursue wage-and-hour claims on a class basis if the court determines class arbitration is a better way to resolve the dispute.
