Morales v. Sun Contractors, Inc.

541 F.3d 218 (3rd Cir. 2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was employed by D. The employment relationship was governed by a signed employment agreement that contained an arbitration clause. P was terminated by D, and he filed a wrongful termination suit. D moved to stay the proceedings pending arbitration, but the District Court denied the motion, finding that P signed the Agreement without realizing it contained an arbitration clause. This appeal followed. P cannot understand, and the District Court concluded that the arbitration clause was unenforceable because P did not assent to the clause. P was asked to sign the agreement while in a 2.5-hour orientation. It was conducted entirely in English. The D employee who conducted the orientation asked a bilingual applicant who was also present at the orientation if anyone needed help translating. The bilingual applicant testified that he generally understands about eighty-five percent of what is said and written in English. He also stated that P did not ask him what he was signing and that he did not specifically explain the arbitration clause to P. D fired P for allegedly dumping a bottle of urine from a great height on another contractor's employees in violation of safety standards.