California Appellate Tracker

Muro v. Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc.

March 10, 2018

When an arbitration agreement is not covered by the FAA, Courts evaluate whether the agreement’s class waiver provision is unenforceable under the four-part Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 test.

Following Garrido v. Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP (2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 833, this decision affirms an order denying an employer’s motion to compel arbitration. The plaintiff employee was hired by the defendant staffing company to serve as a truck driver for a manufacturer. The truck driver’s delivery routes often took him to states outside California. Thus, he was a transportation worker and his employment contract fell outside the FAA’s scope. Applying the four-factor analysis of Gentry, the court found that the arbitration clause’s class action waiver was unenforceable as against public policy because it would, as a practical matter, deter employees from enforcing their statutory rights under wage and hour laws. Their recoveries would be small. They would likely not know their rights. They would be deterred from enforcing those rights by the threat of termination.

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One (Dato, J.); February 23, 2018; 2018 WL 1024168.

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Muro v. Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc.

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