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B. Motion to Compel Arbitration
Neiman Marcus responded to the complaint with a motion to compel arbitration of
the entire case. The company established that, at the time of hire, Peleg was given a
―Mandatory Arbitration Agreement‖ (Agreement). Over a year later, he signed a form
acknowledging (1) he had received the Agreement and had an opportunity to review it,
(2) he understood that he and the company had to submit all disputes to binding
arbitration, and (3) the Agreement was a mandatory condition of employment.
The first three pages of the Agreement indicate that the parties agreed to arbitrate
―claims‖ against each other.
The Agreement defines ―Covered Employees‖ as ―[a]ll employees of the
Company who are employed by the Company on or after the Effective Date [of July 15,
2007], and all employees who accept employment on or after the Effective Date . . . .
[T]his Agreement does not cover employees who have their own separately signed
employment agreement with the Company.‖
On page 1, the Agreement recites: ―The following are the terms and conditions of
this Agreement. [] . . . [] . . . All ‗Claims‘ described in Section 3 below that any
Covered Employee may have against the Company shall be resolved exclusively through
final and binding arbitration . . . . [] . . . All ‗Claims‘ described in Section 3 below that
the Company may have against any Covered Employee shall be resolved exclusively
through final and binding arbitration . . . .‖ (Italics added.)
Section 3, which appears on pages 2 and 3, sets forth a list of ―Covered Claims.‖
Those claims are divided into 10 general categories and include the names of specific
statutes where pertinent, as follows: (1) ―Discrimination or harassment on the basis of
race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, or any
other unlawful basis,‖ citing, among other laws, the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. §§ 621–634), title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
§§ 2000e to 2000e-4), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–
12117), and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601–2654);
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