Labor & Employment Law Articles

Binding Arbitration of Employment Disputes

Many employers are including in their employment agreements with employees provisions mandating compulsory arbitration of age, sex, race, religious, national origin, and disability bias claims.

In Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., the Supreme Court held that an employee was required to arbitrate his claim of age discrimination pursuant to an employment agreement which specifically included in its arbitration clause statutory claims of age discrimination.

For such an agreement to be enforced, it is necessary for the clause to be carefully written to include as many potential claims as possible.

Employers prefer arbitration of employment discrimination claims because of the reduced legal fees involved in defending such claims in arbitration as opposed to court. Moreover, arbitration eliminates the threat of excessive jury verdicts.

If you are interested in implementing a program mandating binding arbitration of employment disputes, please do not hesitate to contact us