Mandatory arbitration provisions in employment documents that employees must sign if they want to begin work represent the hallmark of unequal bargaining power, with employers demanding, in effect, that employees abandon legal protections as a pre-condition to collecting a paycheck.

These clauses are sometimes hidden within the piles of paperwork that employees sign when they start a new job.  But the devil is always in the details.  These little clauses can eviscerate your right to sue in court, much less bring a class or collective action that could address the injuries of all employees suffering from similar employment practices.

You will be deprived of a jury of your peers and instead sent to a business person.

The entire process of arbitration was designed for commercial disputed between businesses, not for you and your employer.

Demanding arbitration as the means for resolving disputes benefits the employer at the expense of the employee.  Arbitration is a private forum, there is no judge or jury.  The arbitrator is paid by the parties.

This makes it much different from a court of law, where the halls of justice are open to all regardless of their financial ability.

It also makes arbitration a forum where arbitrators become de facto salesmen, pitching their arbitration skills to companies that provide them repeat business.  Like your former employer who will certainly fire more people then you will ever get fired in your life.  The entire scenario is rigged against employee justice.

Read the papers your employer gives you carefully, and OPT-OUT of any mandatory arbitration agreement!

If you have any questions, contact a lawyer at Vision Legal, Inc., who understands arbitration and arbitration agreements and can help you start looking out for yourself and your legal rights.