Campbell v. General Dynamics Government Systems Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
407 F.3d 546 (1st Cir. 2005)
General Dynamics (defendant) emailed employees announcing a new dispute-resolution policy culminating in arbitration, but the email itself didn't state the policy's terms directly; instead, it contained embedded links to a brochure (which, on its second page, stated continued employment after the policy's effective date would waive judicial rights for discrimination claims) and a full handbook, without requiring any acknowledgment that employees had opened or read either document. General Dynamics could confirm employee Roderick Campbell (plaintiff) opened the email but not whether he clicked either link; after his 2002 termination, Campbell sued under the ADA, and General Dynamics moved to compel arbitration based on the policy, which the district court denied for lack of adequate notice, and General Dynamics appealed.
Whether an employer's policy mandating arbitration of ADA claims is enforceable against an employee who continued working after the policy's adoption, when the employer's notice of the policy was communicated only through an email containing embedded links to documents describing the waiver.