Ford

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE

From September 2018 to December 2021, Ford worked as a full-time security guard for Parkwest. Upon his hiring, Ford signed an arbitration agreement, pursuant to which he agreed to arbitrate any employment-related disputes. However, the arbitration agreement expressly “does not apply” to claims for workers’ compensation or unemployment compensation, specified administrative complaints, Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims, or, as relevant here, “representative claims under [PAGA].” In addition to the arbitration clause, the arbitration agreement contains a class, collective, and representative action waiver. It provides: “Except where prohibited by federal law, [Parkwest] and I agree that we expressly waive the right to commence arbitration or to file a complaint in court in the form of a class, collective, or representative action on behalf of others. . . . In the event a court determines this waiver is unenforceable with respect to any claim, then this waiver shall not apply to that claim, that claim must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction, and such court shall be the exclusive forum for that claim.” (Capitalization…