Sign This Arbitration Provision If You Want To Work Here.

Carpet installers were told to sign a form contract when they were hired and again during their employment.  The contract included an arbitration provision among its 37 paragraphs, a six-month statute of limitations and a unilateral attorney fee provision which worked to the detriment to the employees.  The forms were in English and the employees did not read English.  The installers sued for failure to pay minimum wage or overtime and the employer petitioned to compel arbitration.  The trial court denied the petition, finding the agreement “highly unconscionable from a procedural standpoint” and that it demonstrated “strong indicia of substantive unconscionability.”  The Court of Appeal affirmed.  Samaniego v. Empire Today LLC  (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 3; May 7, 2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1138, [140 Cal.Rptr.3d 492].