Kenneth Sulzer Quoted in the Los Angeles Daily Journal
“Class Arbitration Waivers Fall Out of Favor, Lawyers Say”

Kenneth Sulzer was quoted in the December 23, 2008 issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal in the article, “Class Arbitration Waivers Fall Out of Favor, Lawyers Say.” The article discussed the effects of the Gentry v. Superior Court decision on wage-and-hour litigation in California.  Even though a major national electronics retailer has filed for bankruptcy and Robert Gentry quit his manager's job with the company long ago, the California Supreme Court decision continues to affect wage-and-hour litigation trends across the state. The August 2007 decision empowered employees to band together in employment disputes, heading off a divide-and-conquer strategy some employers had been using. According to the article, the court said companies generally can't ask their employees to give up their right to class arbitration. Since then, attorneys on both sides have said that arbitration in general is falling out of favor with employers due mainly to cost. Ken noted that, “The practical effect is that you really aren’t seeing companies asserting a class action waiver and you aren’t seeing companies trying to craft class action waivers that would comply with Gentry." He concluded that “The court has set the bar relatively high.”