Texas: Arbitration agreement with employee enforceable even though she did not sign

Originally published by Gene Roberts.

In Firstlight Federal Credit Union v. Loya, the Eighth District Court of Appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to compel arbitration. The court held that Loya, an at-will employee, was bound by the arbitration agreement as a matter of law despite her lack of signature because she continued working after receiving notice of the arbitration agreement. According to the Court of Appeals, there was evidence that Loya received a notice of the arbitration policy and acknowledged its receipt electronically through a secure web-portal. It was undisputed that Loya did not print, sign, and return the online version of the company’s Dispute Resolution Policy & Procedure.
The Court of Appeals also examined the “delegation clause” of the agreement–that portion of the agreement that determines whether the court or the arbitrator has the power to rule on gateway issues, such as the validity and enforceability of the arbitration agreement. Here, the Court of Appeals held that the agree …

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