An arbitration clause in an electronic employment agreement cannot be enforced where the employer failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee electronically executed the agreement, a California appeals court ruled. The court found that the evidence before the lower court indicated that the form in question had been partially filled out at the time it was presented to the employee, and the system through which the document was provided allowed the document to be edited and electronically signed by individuals other than the employee. Absent affirmative evidence that the employee herself electronically signed the agreement, the court concluded, it could not find that the purported electronic signature on the document was attributable to the employee under the California Civil Code provisions governing electronic transactions. The court also found that even if the employee had signed the agreement, she was not sufficiently alerted to the fact that it contained an arbitration provision.
Adams v. Superior Court, 2010 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1236 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist. Feb. 22, 2010) Download PDF
