Catherwood LibraryILR School

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling it rendered just five years ago, when it held that employers can compel workers to sign arbitration agreements waiving their right to sue in court over race and sex discrimination. The majority found that the court's earlier ruling, that employers could not force workers to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of getting a job, was contrary to Congress' encouragement of alternative dispute resolution in the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Most employers favor arbitration because they feel they are more likely to win in arbitration and avoid the risk of a large jury verdict.