An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 13 - Student Applications And Enrollment Contracts

These services also create a certificate of completion when a person creates an electronic signature, which schools should print out and attach to a completed enrollment contract in the student’s file. LCW Practice Advisor

Schools may want to consider hiring vendors who specialize in implementing technology which verifies the identity and authenticity of an electronic signature. This should assist schools in verifying a parent or legal guardian’s electronic signature on an enrollment contract and also in safeguarding the online information.

No matter what process schools use to obtain electronic signatures, schools must be able to verify that the person whose electronic signature appears on the enrollment contract is the person who signed the contract. A school should have an Information Technology (I.T.) Director or Network Administrator who can explain how electronic signatures are created under the school’s system. This person should be familiar enough with the process that he or she can submit a declaration attesting to the process if the electronic signature is ever challenged in court or arbitration. Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc. 2060 An auto services employee filed a class action complaint against his employer alleging that his employer failed to pay overtime and other wages, along with several other wage and hour violations. The employer filed a petition to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement it claimed Ruiz electronically signed. Ruiz challenged the validity of the arbitration agreement on the grounds that the employer could not prove that the electronic signature was an “act attributable” to him. The employer was required to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the electronic signature was an act done by Ruiz, which was not a difficult evidentiary burden to meet. However, the employer’s business manager did not explain how she arrived at the conclusion that Ruiz was the person who electronically signed the agreement or how the electronic signature came to be placed on the agreement. The Court of Appeal held that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that the electronic signature on the arbitration agreement was an act of Ruiz. Therefore, the employer could not rely on the arbitration agreement and the Court of Appeal denied the employer’s petition to compel arbitration. Espejo v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group et al. 2061 A doctor filed a complaint for wrongful termination, claiming he was fired in retaliation for reporting inappropriate prescribing practices by another doctor. The employer filed a motion to compel arbitration, claiming the doctor signed an agreement to resolve disputes through arbitration at his time of hire. The employer submitted declarations from a systems consultant and project manager, explaining the process by which the doctor electronically signed the agreement. The employer also submitted a copy of the doctor’s name typed on

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