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UITLER 1,!ENDELSOll. P.C 

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&J.:e 2000 

s:;.-;:wnsro, CA ;sst4 

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BARBARA A. BLACKBURN, Bar No. 253731 

bblackbum@littler.com 

LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C. 

500 Capitol Mall, Suite 2000 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

Telephone: 916.830.7200 

Fax No.: 916.561.0828 

JEFFREY J. MANN, Bar No. 253440 

jmann@littler.com 

LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C. 

TREAT TOWERS 

1255 Treat Blvd., Suite 600 

Walnut Creek, CA 94597 

Telephone: 925.932.2468 

Fax No.: 925.946.9809 

Attorneys for Defendant 

O.C. COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

DESIDERO SOTO, STEVEN 

STRICKLEN, STEEVE FONDROSE, 

LORENZO ORTEGA, and JOSE FARIAS, 

JR., on behalf of themselves and all others 

similarly situated, 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

O.C. COMMUNICATIONS, INC, 

COMCAST CORPORATION, and 

COM CAST CABLE 

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT, 

LLC, 

Defendants. 

Case No. 3:17-cv-00251-VC 

ASSIGNED FOR ALL PURPOSES TO JUDGE 

VINCE CHHABRIA 

DECLARATION OF STEVE FAZIO IN 

SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT OCC 

COMMUNICATIONS, INC.'S MOTION TO 

COMPEL ARBITRATION, STRIKE CLASS 

ALLEGATIONS, AND STAY ANY NONARBITRABLE PROCEEDINGS 

DATE: September27, 2018 

TIME: I 0:00 AM 

COURTROOM: 4, 17'h Floor 

COMPLAINT FILED: January 18, 2017 

DECLARATION OF FAZIO ISO DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION 
I I, Steve Fazio, declare as follows: 

2 1. I am employed by Defendant O.C. Communications, Inc. ("OCC") as its Vice 

3 President of Human Resources. Unless otherwise stated, the following declaration is based on my 

4 personal knowledge or upon my review of OCC's records maintained in the ordinary course of 

5 business. If called upon to do so, I could and would testify competently as to the information 

6 contained herein. 

7 2. I have been the Vice President of Human Resources at OCC since January 2016. 

8 During the first five to six months of my employment with OCC, I worked closely with Karen 

9 Conrad, the prior VP of HR, to learn OCC's policies, procedures, and practices, especially with 

1 o respect to its human resources functions. My responsibilities as the VP of HR include the oversight 

11 of all of OCC's human resources employees and functions, including the ultimate responsibility for 

12 the maintenance of all personnel files and the contents thereof. I maintain and rely on the accuracy of 

13 OCC's personnel files on a regular basis, for litigation purposes, employee and attorney requests for 

14 copies of employees' personnel files, among other duties. I also have basic high-level knowledge of 

15 OCC's operations nationwide, and work with outside counsel with regard to litigation against OCC. 

16 3. OCC contracts with cable providers throughout the nation, including Comcast, to 

17 install residential and commercial cable services, including the installation and re-wiring of internal 

18 and external cables, and the installation of residential alarms to customers of Comcast and other 

19 cable providers. 

20 4. My job duties including overseeing OCC's orientation and on-boarding process. 

21 Beginning in 2004 and continuing to the present, as part of OCC's routine on-boarding process, 

22 newly-hired employees are physically given a copy of the applicable Arbitration Agreement at the 

23 same time as they are provided with other documents the employee is asked to complete at the time 

24 they are hired. Current employees are from time to time given the opportunity to review and agree to 

25 a revised Arbitration Agreement. 

26 5. The onboarding process is typically either handled by either one of OCC's corporate 

27 human resources employees, such as former Administrative Assistant Kimberly Herendeen (nee 

28 Pearce) if the employee is being hired in the Sacramento area, or a local manager responsible for the 

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2. 

DECLARATION OF FAZIO ISO DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION 
1 particular warehouse where the employee is being hired. Kacey Clark, our HR Generalist, handles 

2 the onboarding process for new hires in the Everett, Washington region, and maintains the personnel 

3 files for OCC's employees in Washington, Arizona, and Utah. Regardless of who handles the 

4 onboarding process, that employee is responsible for confirming that the new hire has reviewed and 

5 signed all of OCC's new hire paperwork, including OCC's then-current arbitration agreement. Prior 

6 to going to "paperless" personnel files, the person responsible for the onboarding process would 

7 send the original signed arbitration agreement to our corporate headquarters in Elk Grove, where the 

8 document would be placed in the new hire's personnel file. Under our current system in California, 

9 which began in the last year or so, the person conducting the onboarding process will scan a copy of 

l 0 the arbitration agreement to OCC's HR department, which then places the scanned file in an 

11 electronic personnel folder. Our Washington, Arizona and Utah operations have not transitioned to 

12 our paperless system. 

13 6. If the employee responsible for the onboarding process fails to send a particular 

14 document that is part of OCC's onboarding packet, my team is responsible for following up to 

15 ensure that we receive all necessary documents, and to ensure that we maintain a complete and 

16 accurate personnel file for the new hire. 

17 7. My job duties also require me to have knowledge of all of the different arbitration 

18 agreements that OCC has used. Attached hereto as Exhibit "A" is a tme and correct copy of OCCs 

19 initial arbitration agreement created in 2004 (the "2004 Agreement"). A total of seven (7) opt-in 

20 plaintiffs signed the 2004 Agreement but did not sign any subsequent Arbitration Agreements. 

21 8. In January of 2013, OCC revised its Mutual Arbitration Agreement and created the 

22 "20 13 Agreement." A true and correct copy of the 2013 Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 

23 "B". OCC requested that all cable installation technicians nationwide review and sign 2013 

24 Agreement if they were employed at the time it was introduced. OCC also requested that all 

25 subsequently hired technicians sign the 2013 Agreement until OCC further revised the Agreement in 

26 2015. A total of 581 opt-in plaintiffs signed the 2013 Agreement but did not sign any subsequent 

27 Arbitration Agreements. 

28 9. In November of2015, OCC again revised the terms of the Arbitration Agreement and 

llffiER MEI1DELSON, P.C 

~.JO C~pilo! Moil 

Sui(e 2000 

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3. 

DECLARATION OF FAZIO ISO DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION 
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LITILER MENDELSW. P_C 

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created the "20 15 Agreement," and requested that all new technicians revtew and stgn the 

agreement, unless they elected to opt out of doing so. A true and correct copy of the 2015 Agreement 

is attached hereto as Exhibit "C." A total of 339 opt-in plaintiffs signed the 2015 Agreement but did 

not sign any subsequent Arbitration Agreements. 

I 0. In January of 2017, OCC again revised the terms of the Arbitration Agreement (the 

"20 17 Agreement," and requested that all new technicians review and sign the agreement, unless 

they elected to opt out of doing so. A true and correct copy of the 2017 Agreement is attached hereto 

as Exhibit "D". A total of24 opt-in plaintiffs signed the 2017 Agreement. 

II. My HR team and I have reviewed the personnel files of all of OCC' s employees who 

have worked for the company since January 18, 2013 through January 18, 2018. We then pulled the 

arbitration agreement acknowledgments from all such files. 

12. Attached as Exhibit "E" are true and correct copies of the arbitration agreement 

acknowledgments for named plaintiffs Desidero Soto, Steven Stricklen, Steeve Fondrose, Lorenzo 

Ortega, and Jose Antonio Farias, Jr. 

13. Attached as Exhibit "F" are true and correct copies of the arbitration agreement 

acknowledgments for the seven (7) opt-in plaintiffs who agreed to the 2004 Agreement, along with a 

list of all such individuals. Based on my review of the personnel files of such individuals, all such 

employees signed the acknowledgments in Exhibit "F" as part of their on boarding process. 

14. Attached as Exhibit "G" are true and co!Tect copies of the arbitration agreement 

acknowledgments for the 581 opt-in plaintiffs who agreed to the 2013 Agreement, along with a list 

of all such individuals. Based on my review of the personnel files of such individuals, all such 

employees signed the acknowledgments in Exhibit "G" as pmi of their on boarding process. 

15. Attached as Exhibit "H" are true and correct copies of the arbitration agreement 

acknowledgments for the 339 opt-in plaintiffs who agreed to the 2015 Agreement, along with a list 

of all such individuals. Based on my review of the personnel files of such individuals, all such 

employees signed the acknowledgments in Exhibit "H" as part of their on boarding process. 

16. Attached as Exhibit "I" are true and correct copies of the arbitration agreement 

acknowledgments for the 24 opt-in plaintiffs who agreed to the 2017 Agreement, along with a list of 

4. 

DECLARATION OF FAZIO ISO DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION 
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liDLm MEJiOELSON, P,C 

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all such individuals. Based on my revww of the personnel files of such individuals, all such 

employees signed the acknowledgments in Exhibit "I" as part oftheir onboarding process. 

I declare under penalty of peljury under the laws of the State of California and the United 

States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. 

Executed this 23'd day of August, 2018 at 6\l..:. <..co.,.., , California. 

Stmh~-- Finnwide: 156290905.1 092551.1001 

5. 

DECLARATION OF FAZIO ISO DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION