Keep me logged in until I sign out. If you sign an employment contract containing an arbitration clause, a claim made by a fired employee under the ADEA may fall within the scope of the clause and you may be forced to litigate an age discrimination dispute in arbitration, rather than in court before a jury. This could work to your disadvantage because arbitrators are not empowered to award punitive damages, injunctions stopping further harassment, and legal fees in most instances. Furthermore, arbitrators are usually business people or lawyers, and their philosophical orientation is often not as closely aligned to an individual's rights, as a jury is.
Arbitration awards tend to be smaller for discriminatory harms committed.
Thus, it is important to understand the ramifications of any arbitration clause in an employment agreement before signing. Consider seeking legal advice when presented with a comprehensive employment contract for an important job. Recognize that waivers signed by a departing worker may not protect the employer if the worker later applies for a job. A year later, still unemployed, he saw his old job advertised in the newspaper. With the encouragement of a former superior, he applied for the position.