In a recent case, a collective bargaining agreement between the employees’ union and the employer’s contractor association governed the parties’ employment relationship and exclusively required arbitration for disputes, including those arising under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
In the case of Oswald v. Murray Plumbing and Heating Corporation, Murray Plumbing and Heating Corporation briefly employed the plaintiff as a journeyman pipefitter in 2019 to 2020. He brought a lawsuit seeking civil penalties under PAGA. He alleged that the company failed to offer meal and rest breaks or accurate wage statements, failed to timely pay wages, and failed to reimburse business expenses.
The company filed a motion to compel arbitration based on the collective bargaining agreement. The trial court denied the motion on the ground that section 2699.6 of California’s Labor Code did not apply.
The company appealed. Three days later, the parties’ collective bargaining representatives signed a “Memorandum of Understanding Waiver of PAGA and Class Action Claims,” which replaced the agreement’s original arbitration clause and which retroacted to 2017.
The California Court of Appeal for the Second District directed the trial court to grant the employer’s motion to compel arbitration so that the parties could arbitrate their dispute under their collective bargaining agreement.
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