In Montano v. The Wet Seal Retail, Inc., the Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court decision denying an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff’s wage and hour claims, including a representative action brought under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), when that employer impermissibly included a waiver of the right to bring representative claims. The Court declared that the lower court was within its authority to render the entire arbitration agreement void and unenforceable due to the presence of a non-severability clause – a clause that states, in essence, that the entire agreement will be deemed void if a court determines that any provision is invalid – along with the invalid waiver of representative claims.

In addition, the Court held that the lower court was within its authority to grant Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery requests and deny Employer’s motion to compel arbitration at the same time. Furthermore, the Court declared that the order compelling discovery was not appealable.

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