C.A. 1st;
A147564

The First Appellate District reversed a trial court order and remanded. The court held that a proposed arbitral forum for wage claims was not rendered unaffordable by the likelihood that the claimant would need to retain counsel.

Ken Kho filed a claim for unpaid wages with the California Labor Commissioner against former employer OTO, L.L.C. OTO filed a petition to compel arbitration. Under the arbitration agreement, which Kho was required to execute as a condition of employment, the wage claim would be subject to binding arbitration conducted by a retired superior court judge. Because the intended procedure incorporated many of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Evidence Code, the anticipated arbitration proceeding would resemble ordinary civil litigation.