Law360 (August 13, 2019, 7:22 PM EDT) — A cleaning company can’t make a worker arbitrate part of a wage suit brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, a state appeals court said Tuesday, deepening a divide over the unique law’s interaction with arbitration agreements as the state Supreme Court debates the issue.

A Fourth Appellate District panel affirmed a San Diego trial court opinion denying Merchants Building Maintenance LLC’s motion to make worker Lorena Mejia arbitrate a bid for unpaid wages she brought under PAGA. The law deputizes workers to allege labor violations on the state’s behalf, and courts generally say claims brought under it can’t be sent…