Many Ohio employers now roll out workplace policies by email. Some use that same email to announce mandatory arbitration, which takes away an employee’s right to bring claims in court before a jury. Our client’s case, McFadden v. Charter Communications, answers a question that matters to every employee who gets one of those emails: does receiving it bind you to arbitrate?
The Ninth District Court of Appeals in Summit County, Ohio said no. McFadden v. Charter Communications, 2024-Ohio-4564 (9th Dist., Sept. 18, 2024). The Supreme Court of Ohio declined to review the decision in January 2025.
What happened
Charter sent its employees a mass email about its Code of Conduct and Employee Handbook. The email did not contain an arbitration agreement. It linked to a web page, and that page linked again to the actual agreement. Our client opened the email but never clicked through to the agreement. When she later brought employment claims in court, Charter asked the court to send the case to arbitration.
What the court held
The trial court found that no agreement to arbitrate existed, and the Ninth District affirmed. An arbitration agreement is a contract, and a contract requires agreement. An unsolicited email that only points, two clicks away, to the terms does not show that the employee agreed to them. Because no contract formed, the court did not need to reach whether its terms were unfair.
Why it matters for Ohio employees
Arbitration is private, limits discovery, and removes the jury. Employers increasingly rely on electronic rollouts to impose it. McFadden confirms that under Ohio law the employer still has to prove an actual agreement, and that sending an email is not the same as getting one.
If you received an arbitration notice by email
Keep the email and note whether you clicked any links or signed or acknowledged anything. Whether you are bound depends on those facts. If you have an employment claim and your employer says you agreed to arbitrate, talk to an employment lawyer before you accept that.
The Petrov Group Co., LPA represents employees in Cleveland and across Northeast Ohio in discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower and wrongful termination cases. Call 216-621-3500.