Fighting forced arbitration

Arbitration clauses are designed to stop collective action.

Many employers require workers to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. Those agreements often include class- and collective-action waivers. The practical effect is that workers with small individual claims are pushed into expensive, private proceedings instead of being able to proceed together in court.

Not every arbitration clause is enforceable, and not every motion to compel should succeed. We regularly challenge these agreements rather than treating them as a dead end.

We dig in when others would fold.

We have defeated efforts to compel arbitration in multiple cases, including:

• Where the worker denied signing the agreement West v. Bam! Pizza Management, Inc. (D.N.M.)
• Where a franchisee tried to enforce an agreement that ran only between the employee and the franchisor Brandi-Van Meter v. MP2 Enterprises (D. Utah)
• Where an employer defaulted and later tried to demand arbitration — affirmed on appeal Myers v. Papa Texas (D.N.M.; 10th Cir.)
• Where a motion to compel was filed years after litigation had already begun Bradford v. Team Pizza, Inc. (S.D. Ohio)

When arbitration is unavoidable, we still pursue the claims in that forum. We have recovered for clients in hundreds of individual claims subject to valid arbitration agreements. Whether in court or in arbitration, the goal is the same: results for the worker.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is unique.