Rent-A-Center wins Supreme Court arbitration case
In a 5-to-4 decision, Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Rent-A-Center in an decision that is a win for employers who want to resolve disputes with employees in the most efficient manner possible.
The ruling in Rent-A-Center West Inc. v. Jackson saw the court rule in favor of Rent-A-Center’s push to have an arbitrator, and not a court, rule on the enforceability of an arbitration agreement between the company and an employee who’d filed an employment discrimination suit.
In so holding, the five-justice majority reinstated a ruling from a Nevada federal court judge that had been reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia reasoned that so long as an arbitration agreement delegates the decision regarding unfairness to the arbitrator, it should be the arbitrator rather than the court who decides whether an arbitration clause is unconscionable.
The case was argued before the Court by Rob Friedman of the Littler law firm, whose name may be recognized by APRO members who have attended one of the employment law seminars he has presented at annual conventions.
"We are pleased with the Court’s decision," said Dwight Dumler, Rent-A-Center senior vice president of public affairs. "The decision is consistent with the holdings of the majority of the circuit courts that have addressed the question. The Court’s ruling keeps arbitration the efficient and cost effective process it was intended to be."