In a highly-anticipated opinion released yesterday, Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that arbitration agreements between employers and employees can both send an employee’s claims under the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, to binding private arbitration and prevent the employee from litigating Labor Code violations allegedly suffered by other employees. The immediate effect is a win for California employers with properly drafted arbitration agreements, but the opinion may signal the start of a new phase in the long-running arbitration wars rather than the decisive victory some employers hoped for.
