Anderson v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.

449 N.W.2d 468, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 1353, 62 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 42,390, 51 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1075, 1989 WL 154560
Court of Appeals of Minnesota·Decided December 26, 1989·No. C0-89-768·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinions

OPINION

FORSBERG, Judge.

Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. (Dean Witter) appeals from an order denying its motion to compel arbitration and stay litigation pursuant to the Minnesota Uniform Arbitration Act, Minn.Stat. § 572.26, subd. 1(1) (1988) and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 15(a)(1)(A) & (B) (1988). We affirm.

FACTS

Respondent Candyce Anderson was employed as an account executive with Dean Witter from June 1984 to May 7, 1987. As part of the hiring process, Anderson was required to sign an employment agreement which provided in part:

Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration before either the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or the American Arbitration Association, in accordance with their respective rules, and judgment upon the award rendered by the Arbitrators) may be entered in any Court having jurisdiction thereof.

Anderson was also required to sign and file with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) a Uniform Application for Securities Administration Form which contained a clause whereby she agreed

to arbitrate any dispute, claim or controversy that may arise between me and my firm, or a customer, or any other person, that is required to be arbitrated under the rules, constitutions, or bylaws of the organizations with which I register, as indicated [herein].

On August 5, 1987, Anderson filed a charge of discrimination against Dean Witter with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (Department). EEOC issued a determination of no [469] probable cause to proceed and the Department dismissed Anderson’s charge.

Anderson then commenced this action alleging sexual harassment and sex discrimination in employment practices under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. § 363.03, subd. l(2)(b) & (c) (1988). Citing both the FAA and the Minnesota Uniform Arbitration Act, Dean Witter moved to compel arbitration and stay litigation based upon the arbitration provisions in the various documents Anderson signed when hired. This appeal followed denial of that motion.

ISSUE

Did the trial court err in denying Dean Witter’s motion to compel arbitration?

ANALYSIS

In denying Dean Witter’s motion to stay litigation, the trial court relied on Swenson v. Management Recruiters International, Inc., 858 F.2d 1304 (8th Cir.1988), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 143, 107 L.Ed.2d 102 (1989). In Swenson, the employee sued her former employer for sex discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Id. at 1304. She had also signed the employer’s arbitration agreement. Id. at 1305 n. 2. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s order staying the suit pending arbitration of all issues under the FAA, stating:

We conclude that Congress has articulated an intent through the text and legislative history of Title YII to preclude waiver of judicial remedies for violation of both federal Title VII rights and parallel state statutory rights, thereby exempting state statutes from the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act. We emphasize that we reach this holding based upon the legislative history and congressional intent manifested by Congress in passing Title VII.

Id. at 1309.

We also find Swenson persuasive. It is grounded in facts similar to those presented here, and has been relied on in other circuits. See, e.g., Nicholson v. CPC International, Inc., 877 F.2d 221, 230 (3rd Cir.1989); Utley v. Goldman Sachs & Co., 883 F.2d 184, 187 (1st Cir.1989) (employee not required to arbitrate federal civil rights claims prior to judicial hearing even though she had signed employer’s arbitration agreement).

While Swenson dealt specifically with arbitration under the FAA, the same principles favor applying the Swenson holding to cases involving arbitration under the Minnesota Uniform Arbitration Act. In addition, we see no reason to have a different rule for state judicial remedies available under the Minnesota Human Rights Act when that statute appears to be modeled after Title VII and the purposes of the two statutes are the same. See Hubbard v. United Press International, Inc., 330 N.W.2d 428, 441 (Minn.1983); Danz v. Jones, 263 N.W.2d 395, 398-99 (Minn.1978). Thus, we believe the holding in Swenson is dispositive to the issues presented here.

Swenson relied heavily on Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974). In Alexander, the Supreme Court held an employee’s statutory right to trial de novo under Title VII is not foreclosed by prior submission of his claim to final arbitration under the nondiscrimination clause of a collective bargaining agreement. Id. at 59-60, 94 S.Ct. at 1025-26. The Court stated, “[W]e think it clear that there can be no prospective waiver of an employee’s rights under Title VII.” Id. at 51, 94 S.Ct. at 1021; see also Swenson, 858 F.2d at 1305. Under Alexander, an employer may not require that an employee’s discrimination claim be submitted to final arbitration pursuant to a predis-pute agreement. Id. at 59-60, 94 S.Ct. at 1025-26.

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Anderson v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 449 N.W.2d 468, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 1353, 62 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 42,390, 51 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1075, 1989 WL 154560 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989).

449 N.W.2d 468 (Anderson v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Anderson v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.
449 N.W.2d 468 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1989)