Employers can no longer count on private arbitration when sexual harassment is on the docket
Employers love arbitration agreements. They keep disputes private and out of court. Unless, that is, sexual harassment is in the case. An Oh...
Topic: alternative dispute resolution
A step in the right direction to ending workplace sexual harassment
By Jon Hyman
When is the last time you recall Congress agreeing on anything ? Well, it happened last week, when the Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbi...
Ohio appellate court refuses to enforce employment arbitration agreement as “unconscionable”
By Jon Hyman
An agreement between an employer and its employees requires an employee to submit to “final and binding arbitration … any actual or allege...
7th Circuit surprises by siding with NLRB on arbitration agreements
By Jon Hyman
It’s been two and a half years since the 5th Circuit, in D.R. Horton , rebuked the NLRB’s prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses. Si...
Some thoughts on arbitration agreements for employees
By Jon Hyman
Recently, the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals stymied an attempt by an employer to enforce an arbitration agreement against an employee. Th...
The best time to settle a case
By Jon Hyman
I’ve long believed that the best time to settle a case is while summary judgment is pending. It’s when both sides have the most risk. The em...
NLRB trumps U.S. Supreme Court on class action arbitrations
By Jon Hyman
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion , held that a business could compel a group of individuals to waive th...
Can a handbook policy bind an employee to arbitration? 6th Circuit says no.
By Jon Hyman
We spend a lot of time debating the respective merits of fine point of the law. The reality, however, is that judges are people too. Despite...
Do you know? Does mandatory arbitration of employment disputes work?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, in Rent-A-Center v. Jackson [pdf] the U.S. Supreme Court held that the issue of the enforceability of an arbitration agreement ...
The art of the apology
By Jon Hyman
Those who’ve been reading for awhile know that I grew up in Philadelphia. I am a proud survivor of the Philadelphia public school system. Wh...
Do your employees really know what they are signing? Enforcing waivers of judicial rights
By Jon Hyman
In 2004, in Thurman v. DaimlerChrysler , the 6th Circuit upheld an employers right to contractually limit an employee’s timeframe to file a ...
Think before having employees sign that arbitration agreement
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett , which enforced a provision in a collective-bargaining agreement ...
Some alternatives to arbitration of employment claims
By Jon Hyman
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hall Street v. Mattel , which held that the Federal Arbitration Act is the exclusive grounds for v...
Mmmmmmmm, arbitration clauses
By Jon Hyman
Arbitration clauses and their enforceability is not the most scintillating topic in the annals of employment law. So, I took some (but not ...
Arbitration Fairness Act would ban mandatory ADR of employment disputes
By Jon Hyman
Mandatory arbitration agreements have long been favored as a tool by employers to limit the risks associated with jury trials. If the Democ...