(Part 3 of a four-part series.)

The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that an employer may impose a mandatory arbitration program with a class or collective relief waiver after a collective action has been filed. The California Court of Appeal anticipated the Board’s ruling last February in Salgado v. Carrows Restaurants. In August, it reaffirmed the same rule in Quiroz Franco v. Greystone Ridge Condominium.

Both of the California decisions held that clear language applying the agreement to "all employment claims" would apply even to claims that had accrued before an agreement was entered. Thus, it is possible that an employer can implement an arbitration program after being sued. This is a particularly valuable option if a class action has been filed. Assuming the Federal Arbitration Act applies to the arbitration agreement, such a program could include an enforceable class relief waiver, effectively preventing class certification.