Is it good to sign a "Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate Claims"?

Question

In the e-mail they sent with the agreement they have a statement :
"Signing the Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate Claims is completely voluntary. However, if you choose not to enter into the agreement, you will not be eligible to participate in "said employer's" incentive award programs.

Answer 1

Go ahead and sign it.

Your constitutional rights to seek redress in a court of law can never be unreasonably or inconscionably waived by an arbitration agreement.

In other words, if you were wronged, and you were not justly compensated as a result of arbitration, you can still seek a remedy in court.

Answer 2

I do not like mandatory arbitration agreements as a lawyer. If you lose, they can only be overturned for agregious fraud, like bribery of the arbitrator. You have no right to discovery and your appeal rights are more limited than any other area of the law. However, I don't know what to tell you about the "incentive award" program. I guess its a cost-benefit analysis. Are the potential incentive awards worth giving up legal rights for? How substantial are the awards? Also, figure out what the likelihood is that you will have an issue to arbitrate. Is it really important? Are you likely to have a dispute with the employer? Can you ask current employees? That's the best I can do with the facts you have given.

Answer 3

A mutual agreement to arbritrate claims essentially says that if you have any legal conflict or dispute you must go before a third-party arbitrator to resolve the dispute. You essentially give up the right to take legal action in court as a resolution to a dispute with the one who you agreed with. This would work in reverse as well, the other party must use a third-party arbitrator if they have a dispute with you to resolve the dispute. It is essentially a way of handling disputes without going to court.

Whether or not it is good really depends on how much you want this incentive rewards package. If this package has little or no value to you, I would not sign it. If this package is very valuable to you, I would sign it.

Answer 4

Well, it's good for them!

I would avoid these clauses whenever possible - you find them in all kinds of agreements. Basically, you are signing away your right to sue in the event that you have any claim against the company. You will instead be bound to arbitration, which cannot give you in most cases a reasonable dollar amount in settlement.