Got Proof? Court Requires Proof Employees Signed Arbitration Agreement To Compel Arbitration

Arbitration agreements, and their use as a means to avoid class action disputes in particular, have been repeat news items in the last several years, and many employers continue to consider their use as a means to mitigate employment and wage and hour class action litigation risk. For employers who have implemented such agreements, a recent federal court decision reminds them of a seemingly simple – but nonetheless critical – point: make sure if you have an arbitration agreement, employees sign on to it and you can demonstrate an employee's assent to the agreement if you need to do so, because as the court indicated, employers cannot rely on general policies requiring employees to sign such agreements to compel arbitration if the employees have not actually signed them.