what does an atty mean when he asks if there is an arbitration clause in the company's policy handbook?

Answer 1

Arbitration means that you agree to have a third party review whatever it is you're problem is rather than file a lawsuit.

If your company hand book has that in there and you were, for example, to want to file a lawsuit against them for harassment or something, you would have to go through arbitration first meaning an outside party would hear both sides and try to get everyone to come to an agreement.

Since you asked this question in the insurance section, I'll assume that your dispute is over a medical claim. If you had an insurance claim that was denied, if there is an arbitration clause in your company policy, then it would go through an arbitration hearing rather than you filing a lawsuit.

Answer 2

A lot of times, an employer puts this clause in their employee handbook, to avoid litigation.

It means, you and the employer both have representatives, who appoint a third representative, and those three people sit down and try to come to an agreement about the dispute. If two of the three agree, it may or may not be binding, depending on the nature of the dispute and the laws of your state.

Answer 3

an arbitration clause means that the employee waives his right to file suit against the company in a court of law, and instead agrees to settle the dispute with a third party, usually a professional arbiter or mediator.