May 5, 2003

Can employers force workers to waive their rights?
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 9:35 AM -

Employers are asking their employees to sign away their rights to bring employment related lawsuits against them and forcing them to accept arbitration instead. Those employees who refuse to sign away these rights are having their job offers revoked. Is this legal? That is what federal courts are in the middle of working out.

About 8 percent of American workers are bound by arbitration agreements, and the number is climbing because employers view arbitration as less expensive and cumbersome than going to court. But lawyers who represent employees say many aspects of arbitration are not as fair as court trials. For instance, employees in arbitrations must sometimes pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs and often face far greater restrictions in obtaining evidence than they would in a court case.

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