Anderson v. Stitch Fix, Inc.

Background

Chloe Anderson sued Stitch Fix, Inc. in state court, alleging disparate treatment under California Government Code § 12940(a) and constructive discharge. The complaint alleged that Stitch Fix pressured her to resign based on national origin. Stitch Fix removed the case to federal court and moved to compel arbitration.

Stitch Fix submitted an October 20, 2020 offer letter stating that Anderson was required to sign an arbitration agreement. It also submitted an arbitration agreement bearing Anderson’s electronic signature dated November 20, 2020. The agreement covered disputes arising from or relating to the agreement, Anderson’s employment, or the termination of her employment, including statutory claims. It also included a procedure allowing Anderson to opt out within 30 days of the agreement’s effective date.

Stitch Fix’s People Operations Lead stated that Stitch Fix had no record of Anderson opting out. Anderson did not dispute that she signed the agreement. In opposing arbitration, she argued only that Stitch Fix’s declaration did not specifically state whether she had opted out. She did not claim that she had used the agreement’s opt-out procedure or provide other evidence that she had opted out.

Legal standard

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a written arbitration agreement is generally enforceable unless a contract-law defense applies. The court considered whether an agreement to arbitrate existed and whether it covered Anderson’s claims. Once Stitch Fix established those points by more than 50 percent likelihood, Anderson had the burden of proving a defense to arbitration by the same standard.

Court’s analysis

The court found that Stitch Fix established that an arbitration agreement existed between the parties. It also found that Anderson’s employment-related statutory claims and constructive-discharge claim fell within the agreement’s broad language covering disputes related to her employment or its termination.

The court further found that Stitch Fix’s declarations established that Anderson did not opt out. Because Anderson did not claim that she had opted out and offered no evidence showing that she had done so, the court concluded that her claims must be addressed in arbitration.

Ruling and effect

Judge Thomas S. Hixson granted Stitch Fix’s motion to compel arbitration. The action is stayed pending arbitration of all claims determined by an arbitrator to be covered by the parties’ arbitration agreement. The parties must provide the court with joint status updates on the arbitration every 90 days from the date of the order.