CALIFORNIA : BRIEFLY / WORKPLACE : Court Rules Workers Can’t Demand Trials

Securities firms can force workers to resolve discrimination disputes through industry-sponsored arbitration, an influential New York federal appeals court ruled, giving Wall Street employers the right to deny workers jury trials. In a case involving a job applicant at Suntrust Bank in Florida, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld the bank’s right to demand the candidate sign a so-called U-4 form, common in the securities industry, that requires the candidate to settle all employment disputes through arbitration and forgo a courtroom trial. Most other federal appeals courts also have sided with securities employers. Only the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court has sided with workers who balk at giving up their day in court.