
Ask HN: Opting out of arbitration agreement? - tastyface
I&#x27;m starting work at a new company, and they&#x27;re making me sign the usual arbitration agreement. However, they&#x27;re also offering a fairly simple opt-out if I e-mail them within 30 days of signing. What are the pros and cons of sticking with the default arbitration agreement versus opting out? Is there any good reason <i>not</i> to opt out?<p>Thank you!
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jsoc815
Having worked for an industry-specific arb forum in the past, I'll take a stab
@ this.

Assuming that the contract specifies the forum, you'd want to look into how
'fair' the past decisions for matters relating to whatever it is you'll be
doing have been.

You'll also want to get a sense of what the forum's arbitrator pool is like,
i.e. who are the arbs and how qualified are they to actually sit on a panel.

Additionally, look for language that specifies where hearings must take place,
and/or forum rules/policies on specifying hearing locations (or _actually how
the process works in general_ ). The last italicized bit is quite important
because contracts can say just about anything, but fora often have rules that
can void contract language that is deemed unfair, unethical, etc.

Other considerations: up-front and long run costs, turnaround times, ability
to receive explained decision and to _appeal decisions_ , ability to forum to
_enforce decisions /judgements_... Probably forgetting some things, but those
are the major ones. Oh, yeah, _precedent_. At my forum, past panel decisions
had _zero_ bearing on other cases. I mean that literally.

Possible reason not to opt out: you might fair worse trying to go to court,
based on costs, turnaround time, precedent, or some other factor. Also, your
company may view you as a troublemaker if the typical behavior is simply to
sign the agreement

Honestly, based on what I learned, whether in the court system or the arb
system, people lacking access to significant resources are at a disadvantage
in either.

W/o knowing the specifics, it's difficult to provide a definitive answer.
Finally, _IANAL_.

