My employer, a retail company, has issued a mutually binding arbitration agreement which I am supposed to either sign or opt-out of. Basically, if I sign it I am agreeing that any legal disputes I have with the company (and any such disputes the company has with me) will be handled by arbitration via the American Arbitration Association (AAA), unless they are are not covered by the agreement for some reason.
The agreement waives my right to file a lawsuit in court, and my right to a jury trial. My employer also waives these. In addition, I may not start a class action, collective action, or representative action claim against the employer, and the number of plaintiffs is limited to just a few.
It does permit me to have a lawyer present during the process, and states that I am responsible for my own attorney's fees unless a statue, law, or contract authorizes otherwise.
Also, the AAA apparently has a filing fee of $200 US, so I will need to pay that right off the bat if I wish to file a claim under the agreement
If I opt-out, then neither I nor my employer will be bound by the agreement.
So, I did some searching and looked at the following (the first and finals links seem to actually be the same document rephrased):
http://employment.findlaw.com/hiring-process/employment-arbitration-agreements.html
http://www.workplacefairness.org/arbitration
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/arbitration-basics-29947.html
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/signing-arbitration-agreement-with-employer-30005.html
So, the pros of signing seem to be that arbitration can be faster, simpler, and may be less costly (the workplace fairness website disputes this) than a court case.
The cons of signing seem to be that arbitrators may tend to be biased towards the employer, one is usually able to supply less evidence in arbitration than in a trial (a device designed to speed up the process - information may only be requested so many times), it may be more difficult to get information necessary for one's case from the employer than in a court, and one is very rarely able to appeal an arbitration.
However, if I do not sign, this could affect my employment by making me less desirable to the company. For all I know, it could result in being fired (my boss seems to like me but I don't know how much say he'd have).
I have been toying with the idea of changing jobs to try and find something better paying and widen my prospects, but haven't reasoned this out yet. That matter is complicated by the fact that I may have an opportunity for a minor promotion right now, but that's probably an issue for another topic.
Does anyone have any experience with these agreements? It's looking like I'd rather not agree to it, except for the fact that it may be required for me to keep my job. Do you think there's a way I could ask the company of this is the case?
The agreement waives my right to file a lawsuit in court, and my right to a jury trial. My employer also waives these. In addition, I may not start a class action, collective action, or representative action claim against the employer, and the number of plaintiffs is limited to just a few.
It does permit me to have a lawyer present during the process, and states that I am responsible for my own attorney's fees unless a statue, law, or contract authorizes otherwise.
Also, the AAA apparently has a filing fee of $200 US, so I will need to pay that right off the bat if I wish to file a claim under the agreement
If I opt-out, then neither I nor my employer will be bound by the agreement.
So, I did some searching and looked at the following (the first and finals links seem to actually be the same document rephrased):
http://employment.findlaw.com/hiring-process/employment-arbitration-agreements.html
http://www.workplacefairness.org/arbitration
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/arbitration-basics-29947.html
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/signing-arbitration-agreement-with-employer-30005.html
So, the pros of signing seem to be that arbitration can be faster, simpler, and may be less costly (the workplace fairness website disputes this) than a court case.
The cons of signing seem to be that arbitrators may tend to be biased towards the employer, one is usually able to supply less evidence in arbitration than in a trial (a device designed to speed up the process - information may only be requested so many times), it may be more difficult to get information necessary for one's case from the employer than in a court, and one is very rarely able to appeal an arbitration.
However, if I do not sign, this could affect my employment by making me less desirable to the company. For all I know, it could result in being fired (my boss seems to like me but I don't know how much say he'd have).
I have been toying with the idea of changing jobs to try and find something better paying and widen my prospects, but haven't reasoned this out yet. That matter is complicated by the fact that I may have an opportunity for a minor promotion right now, but that's probably an issue for another topic.
Does anyone have any experience with these agreements? It's looking like I'd rather not agree to it, except for the fact that it may be required for me to keep my job. Do you think there's a way I could ask the company of this is the case?
