One of the few “get out of arbitration free” cards that SCOTUS offers litigants is this: find another federal statute that clearly entitles plaintiff(s) to a court trial. In a recent 8^th Circuit case, that court carefully considered, and then rejected, the argument that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) constituted that type of “get out of arbitration free” statute.

The claims in McLeod v. General Mills, Inc., 2017 WL 1363797 (8^th Cir. Apr. 14, 2017), stem from a 2012 reduction in force at General Mills.  In exchange for severance packages, terminated employees released the company from claims relating to their termination, and agreed to individual arbitration of future disputes.  In McLeod, 33 of those employees sued the company alleging violations of the ADEA.  In response, the company moved to compel arbitration on an individual basis.

The Chief Judge of the District of Minnesota denied General Mills’ motion. He found that the plain language of the statute at issue “requires General Mills to defend the validity of the plaintiffs’ release agreements in court, not in an arbitral forum.” The statute reads: “any dispute that may arise over whether any of the requirements, conditions, and circumstances set forth in [Section 626(f)(1) ] have been met, the party asserting the validity of a waiver shall have the burden of proving in a court of competent jurisdiction that a waiver was knowing and voluntary.” 29 U.S.C. § 626(f)(3) (emphasis added).

On appeal, the Eighth Circuit reversed. It found that the statute relied upon by the district court was not applicable, because General Mills was not asserting the validity of a waiver within the meaning of that statute.  Furthermore, the Eighth Circuit concluded that the ADEA does not grant employees the substantive right to a jury trial or to a class action, but only provides procedural rights that can be waived.

**Yikes – three weeks since my last post. Where was I?  In arbitration of course!