The best advice to employees from an employment lawyer: DO NOT Sign an Arbitration Agreement with your employer!
Do you want to know the best advice for employees to protect their workplace rights?
Here it is.
Do not sign an arbitration agreement.
That is the best advice from an employment lawyer to employees. First, let's talk about what is an arbitration agreement relating to your employment.
An employment arbitration agreement is essentially a contract signed between you and your employer or any dispute you may have relating to your employment takes place before a private arbitrator not in front of a judge or jury. Arbitration agreements essentially waives any employee's rights to bring a claim in court and waives your constitutional right to a jury trial. These employment related disputes typically involve issues of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Here is why you do not want an arbitrator to decide your employment related dispute. The facts overwhelmingly prove that arbitration favors employers and companies, not employees. That is why your employer wants you to sign one. There are several reasons why arbitration is bad for employees. First, it's financial reasons. In California, the employer must pay for the arbitrators fees, not the employee. That means that the company you have a lawsuit against is paying for the arbitrator who will be making the determination whether your employer violated your civil rights. That alone creates a huge potential conflict of interest.

There is something called the repeat player effect. You likely will only have one employment case in your entire life, whereas big employers and insurance companies who cover employment related claims will have thousands of employment cases. The arbitrator knows where their bread is buttered and knows that if they make a decision that favors the employer or issues a big monetary award on the employee's behalf, they will likely not get repeat business from the company again.

Arbitrators typically cost at least $100,000 through arbitration, which would mean a significant loss of revenue to the arbitrator. That is why if an employee even wins their case in arbitration, the monetary amounts almost always are significantly smaller than what a jury would award. Arbitrators are also less likely to award punitive damages to punish and deter future wrongful conduct by the employer and punitive damages are a big part of the total amount of employment cases.

Arbitrations are also typically confidential and there is little chance to appeal if the arbitrator makes a mistake. These are some of the reasons why arbitration agreements are bad for employees and why you should do everything in your power not to sign one.

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This communication does not form an attorney client relationship and should not be construed as providing legal advice.
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All materials have been prepared for general informational purposes only to permit you to learn more about our firm and our services. The information presented is not legal advice, is not to be acted on as such, may not be current and is subject to change without notice.
Joshua Cohen Slatkin, Esq. is responsible for this communication.

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