Knowingly Or Not? When Does An Employee Agree To Arbitrate?

There was a time, not so long ago, when federal courts refused to enforce arbitration agreements in Title VII cases, rendering arbitration agreements in the employment context virtually meaningless. Then, in 1991, Congress amended Title VII to specifically allow arbitration of Title VII claims "where appropriate." Since that amendment, courts have interpreted Title VII's "where appropriate" language as requiring any agreement to arbitrate a Title VII claim be entered into by the employee "knowingly." This, of course, immediately begs the question: What dictates whether an employee "knowingly" enters into an arbitration agreement?

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (covering Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Guam and the Mariana Islands) recently took on this question and opined on whether an arbitration agreement contained in a handbook was "knowingly" agreed to, based on the language contained in the