GABRIEL AFFONSO vs. Z GOLF FOOD & BEVERAGE SERVICES, LLC; ET AL.

Case No. CU25-04349

Petition to Compel Arbitration

Defendants’ petition to compel arbitration is denied.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act requires “at the election of the person alleging conduct constituting a sexual harassment dispute or sexual assault dispute, or the named representative of a class or in a collective action alleging such conduct, no predispute arbitration agreement or predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to a case which is filed under Federal, Tribal, or State law and relates to the sexual assault dispute or the sexual harassment dispute.” (9 U.S.C. § 402(a), emphasis added.)

The term “case” used in the statute means the entire case, not just the sexual assault or sexual harassment claims alleged as part of that case. (Liu v. Miniso Depot CA, Inc. (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 791, 796; Doe v. Second Street Corp. (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 552, 577.) “[T]he plain language of the EFAA exempts a plaintiffs entire case from arbitration where the plaintiff asserts at least one sexual harassment claim subject to the act.” (Liu, 105 Cal.App.5th at 796.)

The questions of whether or not Plaintiff will be able to represent a class of current and former employees and whether members of this class might be able to avoid arbitration of their wage and hour claims based on Plaintiff’s sexual harassment claims are not yet

properly before the court. Prior to class certification, the only plaintiff before the court is Affonso. (Lee v. S. Cal. Univ. for Prof’l Studies (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 782, 786.)

TOM TRAN; ET AL. vs. STEVEN LAM; ET AL.