As the restaurant industry continues to grapple with challenges
against employee-arbitration clauses, the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Fifth Circuit has found that an arbitration agreement signed
only by an employee is valid and enforceable.1
As part of its onboarding process, the defendant's employees
are required to sign an online arbitration agreement in which they
waive the right to bring any class or collective action claims and
agree to arbitrate any work-related disputes. Based on this
agreement, the defendant sought to dismiss a former employee's
class action suit and compel arbitration. The plaintiff's
primary defense against compelling arbitration was that the
defendant did not sign the agreement. A Texas district court
agreed, finding the arbitration agreement unenforceable because it
lacked the defendant's signature.
