A person walking down an empty Centre Street during the coronavirus pandemic in New York on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

The former general counsel of a not-for-profit film production company must take her gender, racial and disability discrimination claims to arbitration because the personnel policy she signed before her employment began requires arbitration for employment disputes, a federal judge ruled this week.

In January 2019, Woo Jung Cho filed suit against Cinereach Ltd. and its executive director, Philipp Engelhorn, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Cho, who was hired in 2014 as head of business affairs and made general counsel in 2015, claimed she was harassed by the company's white male employees and claims Engelhorn did little to change the alleged toxic culture of the company. Cho further alleges that Engelhorn retaliated against her by locking her out of her email while she was on medical leave. Cho was fired from Cinereach in 2018 while still on medical leave.

In February 2019, the defendants filed a motion to compel arbitration and dismiss the complaint. They argued Cho signed a personnel policy that compelled arbitration for employee disputes before she began working at Cinereach. Cho argued that her offer of employment letter did not mention mandatory arbitration and the personnel policy was not binding.

U.S. District Judge John Koeltl said the offer of employment letter did not need to have the mandatory arbitration agreement in it.

"The plaintiff subsequently received and, on March 31, 2014, signed the acknowledgment form in connection with the personnel policy that included the arbitration provision," Koeltl wrote in the opinion.

A part of the personnel policy Cho signed said: "Nothing in this personnel policy is to be construed as a binding contract with Cinereach or a guarantee of continuity of employment, benefits or rights." However, Koeltl said the language of the part of the policy Cho points to does nothing more than create an at-will employment relationship with Cho.

The part of the policy which requires arbitration is written in "distinct and mandatory terms," Koeltl said.

Cinereach and Engelhorn are represented by Elior Shiloh of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith in New York and Rebecca Ann Goldstein of Littler Mendelson in New York.

"We agree with the court's decision as it is in line with case law in this jurisdiction," Shiloh said on Wednesday.

Cho is represented by Owen Laird and Veronica S. Jung of the Law Offices of Veronica S. Jung in New York. They did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday.