AB 51 attempts to ban employers from requiring applicants or employees from entering into arbitration agreements as a “condition” of employment.  I posted about the law here.  

Although the law tries a novel approach to banning arbitration, a federal district court issued a temporary restraining order today, blocking the statute from taking effect  

The Court decided that there’s enough of a likelihood that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts AB 51 that further litigation is warranted.  The Court did not go into the merits of the parties’ arguments in its brief order Rather, those will be discussed in the context of whether the TRO will be converted into an injunction.  Those proceedings will occur in January, and appeals likely will follow.  

Also, as I explained in my earlier post, AB 51 does more than just ban FAA-preempted arbitration agreements.  So, the law may come back at least in part.  Sometimes. They. Come Back!

Anyway, no AB 51 for now. But stay tuned.  If you want to follow the case, it’s Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v.  Becerra, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the Case No. is 2:19-cv-02456-KJM-DB. You may need a PACER account to check on the docket, but Google is your friend, too.

Happy New Year.