Anyone Have Arbitration Agreement Experience?

[YogSothoth]

I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks and one of the forms the new company wants me to sign prior to employment begins is a Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate Claims document. I know there is a lot of controversy about how enforceable these documents are, but I still want to make sure that I amend the document to work in my favor as much as possible. Some examples:

1) It's my belief that since the company wants to compel arbitration over a trial, it is their responsibility to foot the costs of arbitration (especially if the cost is a hardship on me) - the document is structured so that we would split the costs.

2) Equal say in choosing an Arbitrator.

3) I believe that there should be full disclosure on the part of the arbitrator so that any pre-existing relationship/conflicts of interest are brought to light prior to arbitration.

4) The one-time right to dismiss a potential Arbitrator without cause for both parties.

I've faxed the form off to a friend of my father's who was the head of HR and Administration of a large company for many years to see if he has any take on the document. However, I'd be very interested to hear if anyone here has experience with these types of agreements and/or if anyone can recommend a lawyer who would be able to take a look at the document and suggest amendments.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Arb agreement

It's going to have to be a mighty small company, or you're going to have to be either ahired into a very senior position or someone with a rare skill for there to be any room for negotiation on a standard "term of employment" contract.

 

[YogSothoth]

Yeah, I'm imagining it will be difficult to negotiate (neither a small company, nor am I going into a senior-level position), but I'm hesitant to just sign away a basic right (a trial by a jury of my peers) because they put it in the welcome packet. Actually, the last statement before the signature line is an exhortation to have the document reviewed by a lawyer, so I don't believe their intent is nefarious. They also note that any changes to the agreement must be approved by both parties (which leads me to believe there may be some wiggle room). I just want to make sure that pros of this particular agreement outweigh the cons or, if there are areas that could stand some slight modification, that I at least bring it to the company's attention.

Arbitration is not necessarily a bad thing, and is often a better solution than traditional lawsuits IMO, but I want to make sure it's approached on as even a playing field for both parties as possible. Of course, all this concern and it is 99% likely that it will never be an issue. But then, it's better to prepare for the 1% chance than to be caught off guard.