Employers take note: A California state appeals has just upheld a trial court’s refusal to compel arbitration of a race, sex, age and disability bias lawsuit, concluding that The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act made the arbitration agreement the plaintiff signed unenforceable.
The employer had argued that the lower court erred in concluding that the EFAA prevented the plaintiff’s entire case from being kicked to arbitration, arguing that the 2022 law invalidates arbitration agreements only as they apply to sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. The appellate panel said, however, that both federal and California state courts have ruled in recent years that the EFAA’s language, which says the law applies to a “case” rather than a claim, suggests that Congress meant for the law to cover an entire dispute.