United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division
OPINION AND ORDER
WILLIAM S. DUFFEY, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This
matter is before the Court on Magistrate Judge Russel G.
Vineyard's Final Report and Recommendation [10]
(“R&R”). The R&R recommends the Court
grant Defendants Art Institute of Atlanta (“AIA”)
and EDMC Marketing and Advertising, Inc.'s
(“EDMC”) (together, “Defendants”)
Motion to Compel Arbitration [7).
I.
BACKGROUND
A.
Facts[1]
On
October 20, 2016, Plaintiff Robert Albertson
(“Albertson”), a white male over the age of 50,
filed his Complaint against defendants, alleging age
discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621
et seq., and race discrimination and retaliation in
violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(“Title VII”), as amended, 42 U.S.C. §
2000e, et seq., and 42 U.S.C. § 1981
(“§ 1981”). ([1] ¶¶ 13-29).
According to the Complaint, in January 2001, Albertson was
hired by Defendants as a faculty member at EDMC's AIA
campus, and, in 2003, he became the Academic Director of
Media for AIA. (Id. ¶¶ 5-6). He alleges
that, following the hiring of Newton Myvett
(“Myvett”) as President of AIA in 2011, he
opposed certain discriminatory practices by another AIA
professor against AIA students and began being treated with
hostility by Myvett, which ultimately led to his termination
without cause in January 2016. (Id. ¶¶
8-9, 11).
In July
2012, EDMC instituted an Alternative Dispute Resolution
Policy (“ADR Policy”), which utilizes a
multi-step process for resolving employment-related disputes
between EDMC and its employees and requires binding
arbitration as the final step. (See [7.2] (the
“ADR Policy”)). The ADR Policy provides in
pertinent part:
Purpose of Policy
This policy is intended to create the exclusive means by
which all work-related disputes between [EDMC] (and its
related entities or asserted agents . . .) and its employees
will be promptly addressed and fairly resolved. No employee
will be harassed, intimidated, discharged, disciplined or
otherwise retaliated against in any manner for utilizing
these Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures. Accepting or
continuing employment with the Company after receipt of this
Policy constitutes agreement to abide by its terms. The term
“employee” as used in this Policy includes
current employees, former employees and applicants for
employment.
Authority
This [ADR] Policy is promulgated pursuant to, and governed
by, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16.
Policy Coverage
This policy applies to the following individuals unless they
are covered by (1) a collective bargaining agreement or (2)
an employment agreement containing an arbitration provision:
• All full-time faculty and staff of EDMC and all of its
subsidiaries employed on or after the Effective Date of this
Policy. . .
Effective Date
This Policy is effective on and after July 1, 2012.
(Id. at 2 (footnote omitted)). The ADR Policy also
provides that Level One Disputes may be processed through all
four steps of the dispute resolution procedures, consisting
of informal resolution, submission to the company's
senior management, mediation, and binding arbitration. Level
One Disputes include the following:
Level One Disputes: Claims alleging a violation of
legally protected rights such as claims of employment
discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination
or other alleged unlawful treatment, including asserted
violations of state, local or federal law. By way of example,
such claims include, but are not limited to, alleged
violations of the [ADEA]; [Title VII and] the Civil Rights
Acts of . . . 1991; the Americans with Disabilities Act and
the 2008 amendments to same; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Equal Pay Act;
the Pregnancy Discrimination Act; the Family and Medical
Leave Act; the Fair Labor Standards Act; Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act; the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; the Workers
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; [ยง 1981], or
any alleged violation of public policy, any ...