"Sign Your
Rights Away Here, Please"
The Diva's on the Supreme Court Arbitration Ruling
March 22, 2001
"Right
there, on the back of that application for employment,
was a
list of actions my signature permitted the company
to take
prior to hiring me, a list of actions I was agreeing to take
prior to being hired, and a list of rights I
was agreeing to sign away
in exchange for being permitted to apply..."
Archive for BBBR Resistance:
Message #36
Date: Mar 22 2001 02:19:15 EST
From: "BBBR Resistance" <mailto:thediva@coup2k.com>
Subject: [BBBResistance] "SIGN YOUR RIGHTS AWAY
HERE, PLEASE"
March 22, 2001
"SIGN YOUR RIGHTS AWAY
HERE, PLEASE"
Dear Resistance Fighters:
Boy, it's been a while, huh?
First off, a tidbit from the big
bag of bad news:
======================================
WASHINGTON,
March 21 — Employers can force workers
to take job-related disputes to arbitration rather than to court, the Supreme
Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that will have broad effects on American workplaces.
AGREEMENTS
to arbitrate workplace disputes are enforceable even if the employer REQUIRED
THE WORKER TO SIGN THE AGREEMENT IN ORDER TO BE HIRED, the court said.
Ruling 5-4 for Circuit City Stores, the justices said a gay former employee
cannot sue over alleged harassment at work.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/547594.asp
======================================
I wrote about this subject
earlier this month, as part of a 4-Part Series, "The Great American Freedom-and-Justice
Swap Meet."
For those of you who haven't
already read the column, or would like to give it another look in light of the
recent Supreme Court decision, I am including both the URL and the full text of
the column below.
Welcome to the Jungle.
-Tammy
"The Diva"
coup2k.com
======================================
REPORTS FROM THE FRONT
MONDAY, MARCH 5
http://coup2k.com/swapmeet4.html
PT 4: "SIGN YOUR RIGHTS AWAY HERE, PLEASE"
APPLYING FOR A JOB IS JUST ONE
PART OF
THE GREAT AMERICAN FREEDOM-AND-JUSTICE
SWAP MEET
LONG BEACH (coup2k.com) March 5,
2001 -- The Diva examines the things
you
must agree to in order to apply
for employment.
I've owned my own small (very
small) business since 1988. In fact, I didn't
hold my first corporate job until 1996, when My Consort and I moved to
California for him to complete his postdoctoral studies. I was convinced, California being as
expensive a place to live as it is, that I needed to become gainfully employed
immediately. So, as soon as the boxes were
unpacked and the knick-knacks arranged, off I went in search of a job.
There are moments in life when
you realize the ground has drastically shifted beneath you, and you didn't even
notice it. This was one of those times
for me.
I thought I knew all I needed to
know about applying for a job -- bring your own pen, resume, and
identification; bring the addresses and phone numbers of your previous
employers and personal references; bring information regarding your salary
history, education and achievements; and dress appropriately. So imagine my surprise on my first day of
pounding the pavement, when I filled out my first application for employment.
You should keep in mind that my
parents taught me that you should never sign anything without reading it. (This started off as an easy enough rule to
obey, but has become more time-consuming as the years have worn on.) So, at my first stop of the day, after
filling out my application with all the information listed above but before
signing it, I read the fine print on the back of the application, just above
the line on which I was required to sign, in order to be considered for a job
with the company.
I was utterly unprepared for
what I was required to agree to.
Utterly.
Right there, on the back of that
application for employment, was a list of actions my signature permitted the
company to take prior to hiring me, a list of actions I was agreeing to take
prior to being hired, and a list of rights I was agreeing to sign away in
exchange for being permitted to apply.
1. I had to agree to take tests
prior to employment, and at any time afterwards should I be hired, including:
physical ability/agility tests, personality tests, honesty tests, lie detector
tests, drug tests, and medical exams. I
had to agree to let my person, possessions, work area, and vehicle be searched
at any time, while on company property, for any or no reason. I had to agree to be monitored or recorded
or videotaped, in any manner the company saw fit, anywhere on company property.
2. I had to agree to many checks -- criminal, driving, credit -- and
I had to agree to agree to a sweeping "background check," including inquiries
by anyone the company so designated, to anyone at all, about anything at all,
pertaining to my personal "character" or "mode of living." I had to agree to waive any right I might
have under the law to see the results of this investigation. I also had to promise that no matter what
anyone said about me, whether true or false, I would forgo any legal remedies
to which I had a right under law. This
included both the company and those interviewed.
3. I had to agree that, regardless of what the company handbook
said, I could be fired at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or
no reason. I also had to agree that
when my employment with the company ended, for whatever reason or no reason, I
would not work in that kind of job for another company for a period of three
years. I had to sign a non-disclosure/confidentiality
agreement, promising that I would never disclose anything about the company or
its activities to anyone for any reason.
4. I had to agree never to take legal action against the company for
any reason, or to be involved in any legal action against the company, in any role,
including as a witness. I had to agree
to binding arbitration should any dispute arise between myself and the company,
that the arbitrator would be of the company's choosing, and in the location the
company selected. I had to agree to pay
for the arbitration, and to pay whatever amount the company decided. I had to affirm that I had been advised of
my right to consult an attorney prior to signing the application, and that I
had declined that right freely.
After reading the back of the
application, I asked the human resources person if it was legal to require me
to sign all that. She said that she was
not a lawyer, but if part of it wasn't, then the rest still was. I handed back the application, and said a
polite goodbye, assuming that I could find a place to work where I would not be
required to sign such an agreement.
I was willing to be paid less,
if it meant preserving my privacy and rights.
I am sorry to say that place
after place, everywhere I went, the applications were substantially the
same. Everywhere I went looking for work,
I had to sign a similar agreement in order to be allowed to fill out an
application. I am ashamed to say that I
eventually started signing applications, and got a job. I am sorry to say that I was asked to do things
while there that offended my personal ethics.
I am proud to say that I drew the line (though not soon enough, I have
to admit), and left the company. And I
am very proud to say that I stole my employee file and took it with me when I
went.
Yes, I signed away my
rights.
But the company has no record of
it.
======================================
To read the rest of the series, see:
http://coup2k.com/swapmeet1.html
To Subscribe to the Very Low-Volume
BBBR Resistance Mailing List, see:
http://BBBResistance.listbot.com/