Kentucky Supreme Court Rejects Conditioning Employment on Agreement to Arbitrate

On September 27, 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court in Northern Kentucky Area Development District v. Snyder1 held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt a Kentucky statute, KRS § 336.070(2), barring employers from requiring employees to waive, arbitrate, or diminish statutory rights as a condition or precondition of employment. Although this is ostensibly the first state-wide judicial prohibition on an employer’s mandatory arbitration policy, if appealed, the decision is not expected to withstand U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny.