An employee who had signed an arbitration agreement and was later fired was not required to arbitrate his claims that his employer told prospective employers not to hire him, a California appeals court held. The claims arose after the worker’s employment ended, so they were independent from his employment, the court said.
When the employer, a distributor of electronic components, hired the plaintiff as a commissioned sales manager, the plaintiff signed an agreement to arbitrate any dispute arising from or related to his employment. Three months later, the employer fired him. The plaintiff alleged that the company failed to pay him the commissions he was due and then told prospective employers not to hire him after he was fired.
