You have a difficult decision to make, although it may not matter whether you sign the “agreement” or not. If you continue to work after you are informed that a forced arbitration agreement governs your employment, you may be bound by it, even if you refuse to sign it.
See 9 U.S.C. § 1. In Concepcion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable.
Arbitration might be the right choice for some cases. Limited discovery rights and costs might be useful when less is at stake. Arbitration might feel less adversarial, which could be an advantage where ongoing relationships are hoped to be preserved. Arbitration lends some confidentiality.
Even if you don't currently have a dispute with the company, it is a good idea to opt out of the forced arbitration clause to preserve your options. You can always agree later to use an arbitrator to resolve any dispute. Moreover, if you have opted out, you will have more negotiating power if there is a problem.
A: Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third-party (the arbitrator), rather than a judge or a jury, applies the law to the facts of a dispute to resolve the dispute.
Opting out of the arbitration agreement isn't damaging to you. You can always do arbitration if you would prefer that, although if you'd like to join class actions or sue the judge will throw out your case if you are still in this agreement.
In some instances, you may be able to sue if you signed a valid arbitration agreement. While courts generally favor arbitration agreements, they will allow you to file a lawsuit if either you didn't understand your rights or your claims fall outside the arbitration provision's scope.
However, employers that mandate arbitration often include class-action waivers in their employment contracts. This prevents workers from litigating their cases jointly, and instead requires them each to proceed with their relatively small individual claims through arbitration.
A class action waiver is a provision found in some contracts which prohibits a party from filing a class action legal proceeding against the other party, or both parties waiving the right to file class actions against each other.
A: A class action waiver states that a member agrees to waive the right to participate as a class representative or class member and to resolve any Covered Dispute on an individual basis and further agrees to refrain from pursuing or joining any class or collective actions in conjunction with other members or former ...