Charter Comm'ns Inc. v. Garfin

Employment Agreements Compel Arbitration of Harassment, Discrimination Claims

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OPINION AND ORDER Petitioner Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter” or “Petitioner”) filed a petition to compel arbitration (the “Petition”), pursuant to Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §4 (the “FAA”), against Respondent Karin Garfin. Prior to the Petition, Respondent had filed a related action in state court (the “Underlying Action”), against Charter and Charter employees Kevin Dugan, Audrey Gruber, and Joi De Leon (the “Individual Defendants”). Charter removed the Underlying Action to this Court, where it was stayed pending the resolution of Charter’s Petition. For the reasons stated below, Charter’s Petition is granted. BACKGROUND¹ A. Factual Background 1. The Parties Petitioner is a telecommunications services company that is incorporated in Delaware with its principal executive offices in Stamford, Connecticut. (Petition 20). Respondent is a resident of New York, New York. (Id. at 21). For approximately four months in 2017, Respondent was employed by Petitioner in New York, New York, as a senior producer on the NY1 television show “On Stage.” (Id. at 25). She was hired in or around June 2017, and her employment was terminated at some point between late September 2017 and November 2017. (Id.; Garfin Decl.

2-3).² Petitioner submits that Plaintiff was terminated for unsatisfactory performance (Petition 25), while Respondent has alleged that she lost her job due to “her refusal to acquiesce” either to “her boss’s sexual advances” or to the Individual Defendants’ “discriminatory behavior toward other female employees at [Charter]” (Rodriguez Decl., Ex. M at 4). 2. The Arbitration Agreements Petitioner asserts that Respondent received two arbitration agreements during her employment at NY1: the first as a condition of her hiring, and the second towards the end of her term as an employee. (Petition

Charter Comm'ns Inc. v. Garfin

Employment Agreements Compel Arbitration of Harassment, Discrimination Claims

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