Ailes, Murdochs Try To Move Carlson's Case To Arbitration

Roger Ailes and the Murdoch family are apparently desperate to get Gretchen Carlson’s case out of court and into the forced arbitration that was included in her employment contract.  Recently, we have seen courts start to rule against these forced arbitration clauses and, in fact, the law is unclear right now as the Fifth and Seventh Circuit have entered conflicting opinions about their use. The final decision will eventually have to be made by the Supreme Court; but you can imagine a 4-4 split that would not resolve the issue if the case went to the Court right now. (Wouldn’t it be nice to have a ninth justice so that cases like this could actually get resolved?)

Calson’s employment contract includes the forced arbitration but also essentially restricts Carlson from speaking publicly about her case. But Carlson’s suit may be able to bypass this issue simply because she only sued Roger Ailes personally. Obviously, Fox News has a pretty hostile working environment based on just the videos of stuff that went on during “Fox & Friends” and numerous other reports. But by only focusing on Ailes, she can make the point that the complaint is not covered under her employment contract which is with Fox News. And, presumably, Fox News did not instruct Ailes to proposition her. Yes, it may be a bit of a reach, but it will keep the heat on Ailes and Fox for quite a bit longer. And it’s not necessarily good PR to declare your innocence while at the same time trying to move the case to arbitration where there can be no publicity. You just have to wonder how much longer the Murdochs will go before they have to cut Ailes loose.

Finally, this is yet another example of how abusive these forced arbitration contracts are. You should not have to give up your constitutional rights simply to get a job.