Petition To Compel Arbitration Denied.

Sales agent for an insurance company, who was part of a collective bargaining agreement which required arbitration, sued the company to receive minimum wage, reimbursement for work-related expenses and prompt payment of earned wages due upon termination, all claims based on various Labor Code statutes.  The underlying issue was whether the agent was an employee or independent contractor.  The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the petition, stating that even if the company did not waive arbitration by failing to move to compel it for over a year:  “If [agent] was an employee with viable statutory labor claims, her claims are not subject to arbitration.  If [agent] was an independent contractor she cannot assert statutory labor claims as an employee and therefore the question of arbitration seems irrelevant.”  Hoover v. American Income Life Insurance Co.  (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 2;  June 13, 2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 1193.