Key Takeaways:

• A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit suggests that employers take extra care when requiring employees to sign employment agreements electronically

• Employers should have a uniform policy on how their employees sign agreements and related onboarding documents wherever practicable

• If allowing electronic signatures, employers should consider taking additional steps to ensure that such an electronic signature is authentic, such as implementing a two-factor verification system

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, employers had been accepting electronic signatures—instead of “wet” signatures—on employment agreements and related onboarding documents for several years. Last month, a Second Circuit decision made it more difficult for employers to do so.

The Recent Case

In Barrows v. Brinker Restaurant Corp., the plaintiff was a restaurant worker at a Chili’s chain restaurant from March 2015 to January 2019. After her employment ended, she sued her employer alleging that she, and a putative class of similarly situated employees, had suffered a variety of employment law violations. Her lawsuit was joined by one other named plaintiff, Mr. Mendez, who began work at the same Chili’s restaurant in 2017.

The restaurant-employer moved to dismiss the lawsuit and to compel arbitration in accordance with a signed arbitration agreement. In support of the motion, the restaurant-employer presented an arbitration agreement bearing what they...

Read Full Story: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/employers-should-be-mindful-of-using-7097998/