Vasquez

Plaintiff and petitioner Edward Vasquez petitions for a writ of mandate ordering respondent court to vacate its order compelling arbitration of his action against his employer, defendant and real party in interest Los Angeles County Fair Association (Association). Vasquez is a member of a union that has entered into a collective bargaining agreement (the CBA) with the Association. The CBA requires disputes arising out of the agreement to be resolved by a grievance and arbitration procedure. Vasquez sued the Association for disability discrimination under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act ( 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.) (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12940 et seq.) (FEHA), national origin discrimination under the FEHA, and retaliatory harassment. The question presented is whether arbitration of these statutory discrimination claims is required under the CBA and, if so, whether a union may waive its members’ rights to a judicial forum for statutory discrimination claims. We conclude that the CBA does not contain a clear and unmistakable waiver of these statutory rights. Accordingly, we grant the petition.

Facts

The relevant…