Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/20-1573_8p6h.pdf
Page Number: 23.0

Cite as:  596 U. S. ____ (2022) 

19 

Opinion of the Court 

rules  “in  favor  of  individualized  arbitration  procedures  of 
their  own  design,”  so  parties  to  an  arbitration  agreement
are not required to follow the same approach.  Epic Systems, 
584 U. S., at ____ (slip op., at 14).  And that is true even if 
bifurcated  proceedings  are  an  inevitable  result.    See,  e.g., 
Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd, 470 U. S. 213, 220–221 
(1985); Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Con-
str. Corp., 460 U. S. 1, 103 (1983). 

A state rule imposing an expansive rule of joinder in the
arbitral context would defeat the ability of parties to control 
which claims are subject to arbitration.  Such a rule would 
permit  parties  to  superadd  new  claims  to  the  proceeding,
regardless  of  whether  the  agreement  between  them  com-
mitted  those  claims  to  arbitration.  Requiring  arbitration
procedures  to  include  a  joinder  rule  of  that  kind  compels 
parties to either go along with an arbitration in which the 
range of issues under consideration is determined by coer-
cion  rather  than  consent,  or  else  forgo  arbitration  alto-
gether.  Either way, the parties are coerced into giving up a 
right they enjoy under the FAA.  See Lamps Plus, 587 U. S., 
at ___–___ (slip op., at 6–8); Epic Systems, 584 U. S., at ___– 
___  (slip  op.,  at  5–9);  Concepcion,  563  U. S.,  at  347–351; 
Stolt-Nielsen, 559 U. S., at 684–687. 

When made compulsory by way of Iskanian, the joinder
rule internal to PAGA functions in exactly this way.  Under 
that  rule,  parties  cannot  agree  to  restrict  the  scope  of  an
arbitration to disputes arising out of a particular “ ‘ “trans-
action” ’ ” or “ ‘common nucleus of facts.’ ”  Lucky Brand, 590 
U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 6).  If the parties agree to arbitrate 
“individual” PAGA claims based on personally sustained vi-
olations, Iskanian  allows  the  aggrieved  employee  to  abro-
gate that agreement after the fact and demand either judi-
cial proceedings or an arbitral proceeding that exceeds the
scope jointly intended by the parties.  The only way for par-
ties to agree to arbitrate one of an employee’s PAGA claims
is to also “agree” to arbitrate all other PAGA claims in the