Appellate Court Requires Strict "Knowing And Voluntary" Arbitration Waiver

In the last several years many employers have incorporated arbitration agreements in their employment policies and handbooks. These agreements request that employees waive their right to judicial relief for employment-based disputes and require arbitration of all employment-related claims. Many employers have eagerly adopted such provisions and have required employees to consent to arbitration or face termination. Employers favor these agreements because arbitration is often a faster and less expensive alternative to the judicial forum.

This practice, however, has not been without controversy. On September 22, 2004, an Illinois appeals court found that the arbitration agreement presented to JoAnn Melena by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., was unenforceable because "it left her with no viable options" she could sign the agreement or resign. The court stated that any "choice" she had in executing the agreement was "illusory" and that "to hold that she agreed to arbitrate her retaliatory