Employer’s Petition To Compel Arbitration Denied.

In Montano v. Wet Seal Retail, Inc. (Cal. App. Second Dist. Div. 4; Januanry 7, 2015) (As Mod. January 13, 2015) 232 Cal.App.4th 1214, [182 Cal.Rptr.3d 220], an arbitration agreement drafted by an employer provided that the employee waived the right to file a private attorney general claim. It also stated that this provision was a material term of the contract and that if the waiver were found to be unenforceable, then the entire arbitration agreement was void. The Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled that the waiver was not enforceable, citing Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (Cal. Sup. Ct.; June 23, 2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, [173 Cal.Rptr.3d 289, 327 P.3d 129], and thus affirmed the trial court’s denial of the employer’s petition to compel arbitration because the arbitration agreement was void.