Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with arbitration

Fight a Mandatory Arbitration clause in new employment contract?

Imperfect — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:14:11 -0800

Looking to start a new job that looks otherwise awesome. But the employment contract has an arbitration clause in it and I'm hesitant. Ontario. On the one hand, I don't anticipate any problems with this company and am hesitant to cause further troubles down the line. All the current employees seem happy and well-adjusted.

But on the other hand, mandatory arbitration feels a little skeezy, especially since the contract states I would pay half of the cost of arbitration. Thankfully, Ontario's Arbitration Act states that a court will appoint the arbitrator, so I don't have to worry about being subjected to an arbitrator that will by necessity favour my employer, but there's no appeal to arbitration, no "discovery" phase where my employer can be compelled to provide evidence, and no review of the decision to ensure that the relevant laws are followed or the decision is fair. Heck, the arbitrator doesn't have to be aware of or follow law at all when making their decision.

I like this place, and I'd really like to work there but I don't need the job - in fact I have other interviews I'll have to cancel if I decide to accept the contract.

I guess I'm mainly wondering - am I completely off on arbitration? Are there benefits to me, the employee, that I'm not seeing? Or should I actually make an issue of this?

How do I opt out of the arbitration clause for AT&T U-verse?

ErWenn — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:43:08 -0800

My new AT&T U-verse contract has a forced arbitration clause but no information about opting out. Does that mean that I can't? I'm in the process of switching over from Comcast as my internet provider to AT&T U-verse. Comcast tried this same crap on me a year or two ago, but they at least had the decency to put information for opting out into the contract. I tried to find out how to go about opting out for AT&T U-verse, but all I can find using Google is information about how to opt out of other companies' arbitration clauses or about the Supreme Court case that makes all this crap legal. I called AT&T customer service and scared the piss out of some poor customer service rep who forwarded me to an unnamed department that was closed for the day.

I guess my next step is to wait until business hours tomorrow and repeat the process. But I was hoping that somebody else out there had already tried this and could tell me what needs to be done or if it's even possible.

Is my case eligible for a Labor Board panel review?

holdenjordahl — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:43:03 -0800

I was eligible for a sizable bonus on February 1, 2012, the one year anniversary date of my start date. The offer letter said I'd get an email listing the criteria on which the bonus would be based by the end of February 2011. I never got the email. Requests for the criteria went unanswered. So have emails and phone calls since November. Is this something I could present to a Labor Relations panel for resolution? I have tons of qualitative and quantitative data on the work I've performed, essentially in a vacuum. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I'm Fixing to ride.

Rubbstone — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:32:47 -0800

Can I fix my bike within my budget? I've decided since the weather is getting nicer, it is time to fix my bike or get a new one. I had an accident around a year ago where the rear derailleur, rear brake, rear rim, and the rear tire were destroyed. I'm looking for a cheap way to replace these parts or permission to think about buying a new bike. The frame is a bit too tall for me and it is a little hard to sit on but I kind of enjoy the height. Price range is about $150. I really don't know enough about bike pricing and parts sourcing to really have a good idea what this would cost. I do however live near a bike coop so tools and various sundries are available.

tl;dr Replace rear derailleur,rear brake, rim and tire < $150

Unfairly dismissed, unfairly reinstated

Julia F***ing Sugarbaker — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:16:22 -0800

My father just won an arbitration hearing against his ex-employer. They were supposed to grant him retirement leave -- but they've found a way to force him to return to work. Help! My father has worked in the meat department of a large grocery store chain for 20+ years, and is in a union. Last year he complained to the union about some management policies that he thought were illegal; he went to the manager first, and the guy stupidly threatened to "get" him if he went ahead and lodged the complaint. Sure enough, shortly afterward dad was fired -- they alleged that he had made offensive jokes and threats of violence to co-workers. My dad has a spotless record going back decades; he told me that the list of charges was purely invented, and I believe him.

My father was within 11 months of retiring with full benefits when they fired him. He suffers from degenerative arthritis, which was slowly making it less possible for him to perform the full range of his duties, and was practically dragging himself across the finish line to receive his benefits. This had been a source of frustration to the company, but since dad was in the union, they couldn't do anything about it.

Since he was fired, he has been through a long arbitration process to challenge the decision -- over a year. He is now well past the time at which he would have normally retired. The ruling was finally delivered -- unsurprisingly, the arbitrators found that the termination was wrongful. Dad was owed his full retirement package (they declined to grant him any back-pay for the months he missed, however). They also ruled that the company would have to give dad his job back if he wanted it, but of course he doesn't -- he told me that he'd love to take it back out of spite, but that physically he just doesn't think he can hack it at all anymore.

Well, today we found out that the store is requiring him to work 520 more hours before he can qualify for retirement. I'm sure they're just buying time, counting on finding a way to keep him from completing the stint or finding some way to weasel out of giving him his retirement benefits.

Dad is looking into all this with the union, but they're impossibly slow in dealing with these sorts of things, and he could wind up working again as soon as Monday. Standing for periods of more than an hour cause him incredible pain and swelling. The medication that he has to take to control this have bad side effects, and make it less safe for him to be working around saws, knives, and other tools, especially in cold temperatures. I want to know what he can do to protect himself NOW, and what he should look out for while he's on the job. But basically any advice would help.

Arbitration or bust?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:18:07 -0800

The company I work for has announced the adoption of a "alternative dispute resolution" program. HQ is telling us that by continuing to work there after a certain date, I agree to be covered by this ADR and forfeit my right to take them to court. What are my options, beside quitting? I work for a large, well-known multi-national corporation. Recently, said company announced the adoption of an "alternative dispute resolution" program to address employee complaints and disputes.

By and large, this new program doesn't appear much different than the current process--except that if the dispute in question can't be resolved in the normal process, it goes to binding arbitration via an external mediator.

The training material is specific: "...by choosing to continue to work for the Company aftey July 1, 2009, you are agreeing to be covered by [the new alternative dispute resolution system] after July 1, 2009." It goes on to point out that all covered claims that advance to a certain point must go to arbitration, they cannot be brought to court and will not be heard by a jury, and no class or collective actions are permitted.

"Covered claims" are those claims that a court would have authority under applicable law to resolve, such as employment discrimination & harassment claims, tort claims such as defamation or privacy invasion, wage-hour claims, claims under employment contracts, and trade secret or unfair competition claims.

I've been more-or-less happily employed by this company for nearly two decades. I don't have any beef with my employer, though who knows what may happen between now and retirement? I want to keep my options open, and arbitration seems designed to make sure I don't have options.

Between the current economy and some family health issues, I'm extremely reluctant to leave my job right now. At the same time, being told I have to give up my constitutional right to a jury trial raises my red flags. In addition, from what I know about arbitration in consumer products, it's always heavily stacked against the consumer. So here are my questions:

(1) What, if any, recourse do I have here? Should I go to our HR rep and express my concerns about this new dispute procedure? Can I just tell them, "Sorry, I do not agree to this"? (I suppose I should add that I am a full-time salaried employee; my department is non-union).

(2) Is arbitration in the workplace as bad as it is in the retail sales environment? I've seen articles in the CivilRights.org archives that lead me to believe this is the case, but if anyone else has experience or information that demonstrates otherwise I would appreciate hearing it. I'm trying to remain open-minded here and not let my emotions get in the way of any relevant data. Thanks in advance!

Comcast Arbitration Agreement by Customer Inaction

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:58:32 -0800

Hidden among various other breathtakingly evil clauses, part 13 of the Comcast Agreement for Residential Services says that if the customer doesn't opt out within 30 days of receiving the dense legalese, he gives up the right to sue Comcast in a public court. But (in clause 15g), Comcast maintains the right to sue the user any time they like. Is this stuff enforceable? YMOMNBAL

Bad Contract JuJu

zenpop — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:18:33 -0800

How f*cked am I regarding an arbitration clause in a contract? A contract I signed had an ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES article in it (should there be any controversy or claim related to the contract.)

This states that an arbitration committee would render judgment etc.

Is this the only option I have or can I hire an attorney and try and solve things via other strategies that the attorney might device?

Or would it be that my only option is to have the attorney present with me before the 'committee.' I've never been involved in a legal wrangling like this and would like to know more about what my rights are.

I'm prepping myself for the worst as I have an appointment scheduled with an attorney next week.

How is liability insurance overage paid for?

xiojason — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 17:27:49 -0800

I was in a car accident about four years ago where I rear-ended another vehicle. AFAIK, it was my fault, but no one seemed injured at the time, and now I'm being sued for thousands more than my liability auto insurance will cover. If they are awarded what they're asking through arbitration or through a judgement, what are my options for paying the portion which my insurance won't cover? Background and other related questions inside. I only have liability insurance. $25,000 per person, $50,000 per incident, I believe. The folks I hit, while not obviously injured at the time, are wanting quite a bit more than that for medical treatment and pain and sufferring, loss of sexual pleasure, etc, etc.

The suit kind of snuck up on me. In fact, it was two months from expiring due to the statute of limitations when my insurance company called to let me know that they'd been unable to make any recent contact with the lawyer representing them, and that I should expect a process server to show up and serve me so as to halt the event from expiring. That happened just a few weeks later.

I've only talked briefly with my insurance company's lawyer and I'm giving my deposition tomorrow. There's an arbitration hearing set for next month. If that doesn't resolve anything, there's a court date scheduled for next year. If they don't settle for under $50K, I presume I'm on the hook for the rest. In that case, what are my options for paying that off? Anyone go through something like this and have some advice or at least a story to let me know what to expect? Thanks.