Howard

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

Breann Howard (plaintiff) worked for Koulax Enterprises (Koulax)—which does business as Original Tommy’s Hamburgers—between May 29, 2017 and December 10, 2020. On November 9, 2019, plaintiff signed an “Alternative Dispute Resolution Agreement (Mediation and Binding Arbitration)” (the agreement). Under the agreement, the parties

All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise indicated.

2 had the option, by “mutual consent,” to submit any employment disputes to mediation. Absent such consent, “any claim, controversy, or dispute arising out of and/or in connection with [plaintiff’s] . . . employment and/or any other matter directly or indirectly related to [plaintiff’s] employment,” including “wage and hour related claims,” was to be “submitted to final and binding arbitration.” The arbitration was to be “conducted by a neutral arbitrator, governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)” and the arbitrator was to “apply California substantive law and the California Evidence Code to the proceeding.” However, the agreement also contained a choice-of-law clause providing “that except as otherwise…