In a case on the enforceability of California’s arbitration agreements for claims brought under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, the court did not disappoint California employers in River Viking Cruises v. Moriana. The court held that employers may force an employee’s individual PAGA claim to go to arbitration and that the employee will then lack statutory standing to maintain a PAGA action in court. The River Viking Cruises case was an 8-1 decision with only Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting.

The U.S. Supreme Court surprised both petitioner and respondent alike when it decided the merits of the case on the basis of “statutory standing.” The word “standing” was mentioned a total of one time in the petitioner’s opening brief, yet it was apparently the single most powerful word in the brief because of the 8-1 decision in the petitioner’s favor.