In March 2008, claimants brought a class arbitration proceeding under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000e, et seq. and the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. §206(d), alleging that women working in Sterling Jewelers’ retail stores across the country were systematically denied the same level of pay and promotion opportunities as their male counterparts. At the time Laryssa Jock and others initiated the class arbitration, they also filed a lawsuit in federal court against Sterling.
Claimants had entered into alternative dispute resolution agreements with Sterling in which they agreed to a three-step alternative dispute resolution program, called “RESOLVE,” for raising employment disputes. The third step in the RESOLVE agreements provided for binding arbitration of employment disputes, with the arbitration to be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and in accordance with AAA rules.1
