 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Griffin v. United Health Care Services10/31/2005
her understand and agree that UnitedHealth Group may amend or modify the Policy in the future at its discretion and that I will be bound by such modifications.
"I agree to submit any and all employment related disputes based on a legal claim to arbitration, and agree to waive my right to a trial before a judge or jury in federal or state court in favor of arbitration under the Policy."
Spaces for the date, employee's signature, and employee's printed name are under this final paragraph.
Defendants also supported their petition with a declaration of one of their attorneys, Francis Ortman. His declaration included as an exhibit a letter from another of their attorneys, Patricia Cullison, to plaintiffs' attorney. Cullison's letter was sent before plaintiffs filed their action and states, inter alia: " es, we can confirm with you that the Employment Arbitration Policy . . . which bears a revision date of March 1, 2002, is the Policy which applies to all of your identified clients."
Plaintiffs opposed the petition to compel arbitration on the grounds the arbitration agreement proffered by defendants, i.e., exhibit one, the eight-page "Employment Arbitration Policy," was unenforceable, insofar as none of the plaintiffs, with the possible exception of Perryman, had signed it or been given a copy of it, and furthermore it was unconscionable. They also argued that defendants' reliance on generalized references to arbitration in plaintiffs' employment files did not create an enforceable agreement.
In support of their opposition, all plaintiffs except Perryman declared they never signed defendants' exhibit one, nor had they ever seen it or agreed to be bound by its terms.
Plaintiff Perryman declared that she attended a three-hour orientation session on September 30, 2002, conducted by two human resources representatives from United Behavioral Health. The representatives gave an overview of United HealthCare, Inc., and its subsidiaries and the services they offered. The representatives discussed, inter alia, the various departments of United Behavioral Health and its policies regarding discrimination and sexual harassment; they did not discuss United Behavioral Health's arbitration requirement, nor did they mention dispute resolution policies of United Behavioral Health or United HealthCare, Inc., or distribute any handbooks. At the end of the session all employees were asked to sign various acknowledgement forms dealing with company policies. She signed a "New Employee Orientation Training Acknowledgement Form," which states that she attended the new employee orientation and agreed to remain familiar with and abide by UnitedHealth Group's policies. She also signed a single sheet of paper which states she agreed to submit all employment related disputes, including discrimination claims, to arbitration and to waive her right to a trial. She did not review these forms other than to note that, in general, they stated the employees had been given some orientation in the company's policies. She did not receive defendants' exhibit one, and did not agree to it, nor was a copy of it given to her at a later date or, to her knowledge, placed in her personnel file. Between the September 30, 2002 orientation session and her termination she received no other orientation or notice of United Behavioral Health's arbitration policy. She first learned of the arbitration policy when, after her termination, she asked United Behavioral Health's human resources personnel about her rights and was told to retrieve the policy from its website.
Order
The trial court concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish that the parties agreed to res
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 California Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|