Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

Fifteen years ago, a state budget crisis pushed California to adopt the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA. This law allows private attorneys to sue employers on the state's behalf when those employers violate certain state employment and labor laws.

The law is especially important to workers because the California Supreme Court has ruled that employers cannot require PAGA complaints to be handled in individual arbitration. This is significant because employers routinely require, as a condition of employment, workers to agree to arbitrate all claims against the employer.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that companies could require employees to resolve their employment law claims through individual arbitration rather than by class action or ordinary lawsuits. After the ruling, it was widely expected that companies would eagerly adopt such policies, as arbitration is thought to benefit the employer. However, Google, Facebook, Airbnb and other technology giants have recently announced they will not require arbitration.

Google's decision not to require individual arbitration in sexual harassment and misconduct cases came after more than 20,000 employees walked off the job on Nov. 1 in protest of the company's conduct in previous cases. According to the New York Times, the walkout was prompted by revelations that Google had given a senior executive a $90 million "golden parachute" even though he was credibly accused of sexual harassment. 

Two years ago, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals.

"Discrimination against employees, either because of their failure to conform to sex stereotypes or their transgender or transitioning status, is illegal under Title VII," the court wrote.

The parallels between the situations faced by Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford are obvious. Both accused Supreme Court nominees of sexual misconduct, of course. For each, doing so meant going up against men with impressive backgrounds and powerful supporters. Both spent hours before the Senate and the press, opening their lives to scrutiny.

Both are heroes to many people. Not only did they put their personal discomfort aside to share crucial information about Supreme Court nominees, but they also served as inspiration for other victims. They are worthy of admiration for undergoing such an ordeal as victims of sexual misconduct even when they weren't certain they would be believed.