Surprise! In order to compel arbitration, the other party must have signed the arbitration agreement
California’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of an employer’s petition to compel arbitration of a sexual harassment claim, based on….the fact that the employee never signed the new employee handbook which contained a mandatory arbitration clause for all employment matters. The employer argued that the employee knew the clause existed, and she was in charge of getting all employees (including herself) to sign the employee handbook. The appellate court again denied the employer’s petition to compel arbitration, stating “the trial court properly inferred from [employee’s] election not to sign the arbitration agreement that she did not intend to be bound by it.” Further evidence of the old adage, “GET IT IN WRITING”