What You Need to Know

• A clause requiring arbitration of employment disputes is deemed void because it was printed in a handbook along with a disclaimer saying it was "neither a contract of employment nor a legally-binding agreement."
• Judge Frank Covello first granted a motion to compel arbitration, then declared the arbitration clause invalid on a motion for discrimination.
• The plaintiff's lawyer, Marc Garbar, said he believes the wording prompting the judge to invalidate Lippolis Electric's arbitration clause is present in many other employee manuals as well.

A New Jersey judge has reversed a previous decision he says was based on his own inadequate assessment, now rejecting an employer’s bid to compel arbitration of a workplace discrimination suit based on language in its employee handbook.

Passaic County Superior Court Judge Frank Covello ruled Wednesday that a mandatory arbitration clause in the employee handbook for Lippolis Electric Inc. of Pelham, New York, is invalid because of a disclaimer stating that the handbook is “neither a contract of employment nor a legally-binding agreement.” The ruling means the plaintiff, Shadi Ramadan, gets a jury trial for his discrimination suit instead of having to arbitrate.

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Read Full Story: https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2022/03/25/upon-reconsideration-judge-voids-...