In Dortch v. Quality Restaurant Concepts, LLC, NO. 1:12-CV-198 (E.D. Tenn. Apr. 26, 2013), an employee filed a discrimination lawsuit against his employer, Applebees. The employer responded to the lawsuit by asking the court to enforce an arbitration agreement with the employee. As explained in my book, the Federal Arbitration Act was never intended to cover the employment context, and the arbitration agreement should not be enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act.
Applebees’ dispute resolution procedures required employees to submit a written statement within 20 days of an event triggering the dispute resolution process, and the court found that this 20 day limit was unconscionable. However, because the arbitration agreement had a severability clause, the court severed the clause containing the 20 day time limit, and the court enforced the rest of the arbitration agreement. The court stayed the federal lawsuit so that the arbitration can take place.