Law Firm?s Arbitration Agreement is Unconscionable

O?Melveny & Myers implemented a binding arbitration program for all current and new employees. ?An employee later sued for wage and hour violations.? ?The district court upheld the arbitration? ?agreement?? but? ?the? ?Ninth? ?Circuit reversed.?? The appellate court held the arbitration agreement was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable under California law.?? The court held? that? it? is? per ?se? unconscionable? to? give? a current employee the choice of signing an arbitration agreement or being terminated.? ?The court ruled that the following provisions were substantively unconscionable:??? (1) a one-year statute of limitations period for all statutory employment claims; (2) a broad confidentiality clause; (3) an exemption for any claimed breaches of confidential client information by the employee; and (4) a prohibition on administrative filing. ?The court ?ruled? the ?violations ?were ?pervasive ?and struck ?the ?arbitration ?agreement ?in ?its ?entirety.?Davis. v. O?Melveny & Myers, 485 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2007)