Arbitration: 2/7 DCA Decides That Employer Deadline To Pay Arbitration Expenses Is Not Preempted By The FAA

Also, Whether The Employer Is In Default Is An Arbitrator Decision.

               In Sanders v. Superior Court, Case No. B340707 (2d Dist., Div. 7 May 6, 2025) (published), the appellate court decided that the FAA did not preempt CCP § 1281.98(a)(1), which gives employers a strict 30-day deadline to pay arbitration expenses under penalty of losing arbitration rights.  It disagreed with Hernandez’s contrary reasoning on this point, after noting that various cases—Keeton, Hohenshelt, and Hernandez—were under California Supreme Court review on the preemption issue.  Sanders also decided that the arbitrator is the decision maker to decide if there was a default under section 1281.98.