Don’t fear the click-box: NJ Supreme Court upholds electronic arbitration agreements

In a landmark decision for employers, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently released its long-awaited opinion in Skuse v. Pfizer, holding an employee must arbitrate her employment discrimination claims agreed to in an electronic employee arbitration agreement. The decision reverses the Appellate Division’s January 2019 decision, which had imposed heightened requirements on employers obtaining employees’ assent to arbitration agreements.

Facts

In 2016, Pfizer notified its employees by e-mail of a new arbitration policy, including a link to the company’s new arbitration agreement, as well explanatory documents. The documents stated if an employee continued to work for Pfizer for 60 days after receiving a copy of the agreement, she would be deemed to have assented to its terms, waived the right to litigate certain employment-related claims in court (including claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)), and agreed to arbitrate them instead.

Amy Skuse, a Pfizer flight attendant, opened the e-mails linking to the agreement, completed a “training module” about the policy, and clicked a box on her computer screen asking her to “acknowledge” her obligation to assent to the agreement as a condition of her continued employment.

Skuse continued to work for Pfizer for another 13 months. After a dispute between her and the company about whether she should be required to adhere to its vaccination policy, she was terminated. She filed a complaint in state court alleging the employer violated the NJLAD. Pfizer asked the court to dismiss the complaint and compel arbitration.