Employee claims kept in court absent clear arbitration agreement

In a recent case, employees who agreed to arbitrate certain employment-related claims in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with their union couldn't be forced into arbitration. In determining whether specific wage and hour claims they asserted should be litigated in court or referred to arbitration, the court relied on prior judicial interpretations of two quintessential arbitration issues that must be addressed before resolving the merits of their claims: (1) what types of claims are covered by the parties' agreement to arbitrate and (2) who has the power to decide the arbitrability of a claim—the court or an arbitrator?

Because the CBA didn't contain language demonstrating a "clear and unmistakable"intent to arbitrate statutory claims for the claimed unpaid wages, the court (not an arbitrator) decided the issue of arbitrability, and the employees' lawsuit was allowed to proceed in court.

Facts

SSP Inc. operates food, beverage, and concessions services in airports around the country, including in California. SSP LAX, which operates out of the Los Angeles International Airport, is a subsidiary of SSP Inc. In December 2018, SSP Inc. and Unite Here Local 11, a labor union, entered into a CBA covering the SSP LAX dishwasher employees.