From Insider Louisville: Bill forcing workers to sign arbitration agreements advances
By JOE SONKA
A bill that would allow Kentucky employers to force workers into signing a binding arbitration agreement as a condition of employment moved closer to final passage on Tuesday, after clearing a state House committee on a party-line vote.
Senate Bill 7, sponsored by Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, stems from a unanimous ruling of the Kentucky Supreme Court in September, which banned the practice of requiring employees or prospective employees to sign an agreement waiving their right to file a civil lawsuit against the employer and compelling the settlement of a dispute through binding arbitration.
Previous to that court ruling, employers in every state — including Kentucky, where state law explicitly prohibits such arbitration requirements for workers — had been able to use such agreements as conditions of employment because of federal courts’ interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act as superseding state laws, with broader rights for employers.