Diaz

Diaz v. Sohnen Enters.

Good Law
245 Cal. Rptr. 3d 827·34 Cal. App. 5th 126
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaApril 10, 2019B283077California5,391 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Zelon, J.

*829 *128 Sohnen Enterprises appeals from the denial of its motion to compel arbitration of claims brought by its employee, Erika Diaz. The record before this court demonstrates there was no evidence to support the denial; accordingly, we reverse with directions.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Erika Diaz, an employee of Sohnen Enterprises, filed a complaint alleging workplace discrimination on December 22, 2016. Twenty days earlier, on December 2, 2016, she and her co-workers received notice at an in-person meeting that the company was adopting a new dispute resolution policy requiring arbitration of all claims. At that meeting, according to the declaration of Marla Carr, the Chief Operating Officer of Sohnen, Carr informed all employees present, including Diaz, about the new dispute resolution agreement. She included in her explanation that continued employment by an employee who refused to sign the agreement would itself constitute acceptance of the dispute resolution agreement. According to Carr, she provided the explanation in English and Elaina Diaz, a human resources employee, explained the terms in Spanish. Diaz confirmed this in her own declaration, in which she…

Dissenting Opinion

Segal, J.

*133 I agree an employee can impliedly accept an arbitration agreement by continuing to work for his or her employer. I also think an employee, like any other contracting party, can reject an arbitration agreement offered by an employer and yet continue to work for the employer. Whether an employer and an employee entered into an implied agreement regarding the terms of employment is a factual issue we routinely ask a trier of fact to decide in employment cases. Because the facts in this case do not support only one reasonable conclusion, I would defer to the trial court's resolution of that factual issue.

"The issue of an implied agreement or consent is ordinarily a factual question to be resolved by the trier of fact." ( Antelope Valley Groundwater Cases (2018) 30 Cal.App.5th 602 , 618, fn. 11, 241 Cal.Rptr.3d 692 ; see *833 Foley v. Interactive Data Corp. (1988) 47 Cal.3d 654 , 677, 254 Cal.Rptr. 211 , 765 P.2d 373 [whether the parties' conduct created an implied agreement is generally a question of fact]; Citizens for Amending Proposition L v. City of Pomona (2018) 28 Cal.App.5th 1159 , 1189, 239 Cal.Rptr.3d 750 ["The existence and scope of implied-in-fact contracts are…

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