In Tanguilig v. Bloomingdale’s, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s denial of Bloomingdale’s motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff’s claims brought on behalf of herself and her fellow employees pursuant to the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Here, Plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement as a condition of her employment in which the relevant language required that Plaintiff submit all employment-related legal disputes to arbitration and that Plaintiff refrain from bringing any class suits. The Court held that representative action waivers – in other words, employees contractually agreeing to give up their right bring a PAGA claim via a pre-dispute waiver – are unenforceable and not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), thus affirming the holding of Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles. Furthermore, the Court added that a PAGA claim brought in an individual capacity cannot be arbitrated pursuant to a pre-dispute agreement without the consent of the state. The Court reasoned that the FAA ensures an efficient forum for the resolution of private disputes while PAGA claims, even those brought in an individual capacity, are essentially brought on behalf of the government as a way to enforce state law. However, it is important to note that the Court declined to answer whether individual PAGA claims should be recognized as valid causes of action.

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