Are Employment Agreements that Require Arbitration Enforceable?
If you still feel the benefits of arbitration outweigh the negative aspects, the next issue is whether an arbitration agreement can be drafted that will be enforceable. There are two forces at work that are competing to establish the law in that area. The courts and lawmakers have long favored arbitration clauses as a means to keep civil disputes off the court dockets, and employment agreements have not been an exception. On the other hand, government agencies such as the EEOC, and the plaintiff’s bar, have argued that in the employment context, arbitration clauses are seldom the product of an arm’s-length agreement, and therefore amount to contracts of adhesion. (Indeed, the plaintiff’s bar has supported legislation in California (AB574) that would make it a violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act to require an employee to consent to arbitration.) This latter position has found an ear in the courts. In Stirlen v. Supercuts, Inc., the arbitration agreement used by the company
