4th Circuit: Arbitration clause prevails in SC Title VII case

The use of arbitration clauses to resolve employer-employee disputes has become more routine, and state and federal courts are generally inclined to enforce them. Case in point: The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers) recently overruled a South Carolina district court's decision not to enforce an arbitration agreement. Instead, the arbitration will be allowed to proceed.

Facts

The facts are unremarkable. In March 2015, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) hired Shannon Ashford as an associate in its Columbia, South Carolina advisory group. To confirm her employment, she electronically signed an employment agreement containing arbitration provisions.

The agreement required arbitration of all “Covered Claims,” including claims under “federal, state and local laws regarding employment . . . and any other claims arising under any federal, state or local statute[,] ordinance, regulation, public policy or common law.” It expressly excluded, however, “[c]laims that arise under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, unless and until federal law no longer prohibits the Firm from mandating arbitration of such claims.” The agreement applied to the “Firm,” defined to include “[PwC] and/or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates based in the United States.”