When she was hired, the plaintiff signed an agreement, stating that arbitration methods would be utilized to address disputes that surfaced between her and her employer regarding employment or termination of employment. After her employment ended, the plaintiff filed FCRA-based claims, alleging that the defendant had improperly conducted her background check. The plaintiff argued that the arbitration agreement did not apply to her FCRA violation claims because the alleged violation may have occurred prior to the arbitration agreement being executed, as neither side presented evidence of when the background check was conducted. The plaintiff further argued that the arbitration agreement could not be applied retroactively because the agreement did not clearly and definitively state that as a possibility.
Ultimately, the court sided with Lowe's and granted its motion to compel arbitration. The court justified the decision by stating, "the Court need not decide when a FCRA cause of action accrues, because Plaintiff expressly agreed to arbitrate all disputes, 'including but not limited to those arising out of federal and state statutes and local ordinances, such as … the Fair Credit Reporting Act' [emphasis added] at the time she signed the Arbitration Agreement. Whether Plaintiff knew that any such claim had accrued at that time is irrelevant, because the Agreement is not limited to claims that have not yet accrued."
The takeaway for employers is that the court was persuaded by the fact that claims under the FCRA were specifically included in Lowe's arbitration agreement. As such, employers should place emphasis on the detailed level and the comprehensive nature of the language that is utilized in drafting arbitration agreements.
Source: FCRAland.com, 12/26/2018
Posted: January 8, 2019