Bautista v. Fantasy Activewear, Inc., No. B297070 (D2d1 Jul. 24, 2020)
Another case involving PAGA and arbitration. The clause has a PAGA representative action waiver and a delegation of arbitrability to the arbitrators. Defendant says the validity of the waiver has to be decided by the arbitrators. But that misses the point, which is the same point why PAGA claims aren’t arbitrable in the first place. The true party in a PAGA claim is the government—the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Although plaintiffs bring PAGA claims on behalf of the LWDA, they can’t sign pre-dispute arbitration agreements on behalf of it—they don’t have the authority. Thus, since the LWDA is not a party to the agreement, it also could not have agreed to any delegation. The validity of the waiver was a matter for the court to decide, which it correctly did.
Affirmed.