“Ninth Circuit to Examine the Reach of Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements”

Katherine Galle and David Zwally of Haug Partners LLP have authored this article, available in JD Supra, discussing the upcoming appeal in Balan v. Tesla Motors Inc., No. C19-67 MJP, 2019 WL 2635903 (W.D. Wash. June 27, 2019), addressing the arbitrability of a defamation claim brought by a former employee against her employer. With the agreement at issue provided that “any and all disputes, claims, or causes of action, in law or equity, arising from or relating to your employment, or the termination of your employment,” the lower court took a Solomonic approach, concluding “that the parties shall arbitrate defamation claims deemed to arise out of Balan’s performance, while adjudicating the remaining statements of alleged criminal conduct at trial.”