Supreme Court upholds electronic arbitration agreements
In a landmark decision for employers, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently released its long-awaited opinion in Skuse v. Pfizer, holding an employee must arbitrate her employment discrimination claims agreed to in an electronic employee arbitration agreement. The decision reverses the Appellate Division's January 2019 decision, which had imposed heightened requirements on employers obtaining employees' assent to arbitration agreements.
Facts
In 2016, Pfizer notified its employees by e-mail of a new arbitration policy, including a link to the company's new arbitration agreement as well as explanatory documents. The explanatory documents stated if an employee continued to work for Pfizer for 60 days after receiving a copy of the agreement, she would be deemed to have assented to the agreement, waived the right to litigate in court certain employment-related claims (including claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)), and agreed to arbitrate them instead.
Amy Skuse, a Pfizer flight attendant, opened the e-mails linking to the agreement, completed a "training module" regarding the policy, and clicked a box on her computer screen asking her to "acknowledge" her obligation to assent to the agreement as a condition of her continued employment.
Skuse continued to work for Pfizer for another 13 months. After a dispute between her and the company regarding whether she should be required to adhere to the company's vaccination policy, she was terminated. She filed her complaint in state court, alleging Pfizer violated the NJLAD. Pfizer asked the court to dismiss the complaint and compel arbitration.