Two Bites at the Apple for Employees: Mandatory Arbitration Agreements

On January 15, 2002, the Supreme Court struck a blow to the strong federal policy favoring arbitration. It held that mandatory arbitration agreements do not foreclose or trump the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission‘s absolute right to seek victim specific relief (back pay, reinstatement, and punitive damages) on behalf of an employee in federal court.

Approximately ten percent of all employees sign mandatory arbitration agreements, which require them to bring all on-the-job disputes to binding arbitration and give up their right to sue in court. These types of agreements are increasingly more popular, and every day it seems a major employer announces that it is requiring employees to sign such agreements. Mandatory arbitration gives many benefits to employers including a reduction of overall litigation costs and settlement amounts. Employers also increasingly look to arbitration as a way of ensuring finality. However, the Supreme Court firmly rejected the notion that arbitration will solve all employment ills.

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Employer’s Liability for Sexual Harassment by Supervisors

Charges of Sexual Harassment Are a Small Business Nightmare – Statistics Bare This Out.

Last year, 15,222 charges of sexual harassment were filed with the EEOC and state FEPA’s with which the EEOC has work sharing agreements – 12.1% of them by males.

Last year, charging parties recovered some $50.3 million dollars through resolution of sexual harassment charges by these agencies. This does not include amounts received through litigation.

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Employment Manuals: An Ounce of Prevention

In few areas are employers more heavily regulated than in their employment relationships. At the federal level, such regulation includes: the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and executive orders applicable to federal government contractors. At the local level, state common law and numerous statutes, regulations and ordinances affect virtually every aspect of the employment relationship, and in some cases, impose pre- and post employment obligations.

Some employers attempt to navigate this regulatory minefield without clearly defined written policies and procedures that take into account the federal, state and local laws applicable to their operations. The larger the employer, or the more jurisdictions encompassed by its operations, the more hazardous this becomes.

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