LaCour

I. BACKGROUND

LaCour was employed by Marshalls for some years as a Loss Specialist. In March 2014, he signed an arbitration agreement (the Arbitration Agreement or the Agreement). Among the provisions in the Arbitration Agreement is paragraph 5, a “Class Action, Collective Action, and Private Attorney General Waiver,” which states in pertinent part: “[LaCour and Marshalls] agree to bring any dispute in arbitration on an individual basis only and not on a class, collective, or private attorney

1 general representative action basis. [¶] . . . [¶] (c) There will be no right or authority for any dispute to be brought, heard or arbitrated as a private attorney general representative action (‘[PAGA Waiver]’). The [PAGA Waiver] shall be severable from this Agreement in any case in which a civil court of competent jurisdiction finds the [PAGA Waiver] is invalid, unenforceable, revocable, unconscionable, void or voidable. In such instances and where the claim is brought as a private attorney general claim, such private attorney general claim must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction.” A concluding proviso to this provision, set off as an additional subparagraph…