Employers direct hiring through a staffing agency who want employment disputes decided through arbitration should create a new arbitration agreement.
That’s what the Court of Appeal said in Toothman v. Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, Inc. Toothman signed an arbitration agreement with a staffing agency while working as a temporary employee. Redwood later hired him through the agency. When Toothman sued Redwood for post-hire employment claims, Redwood unsuccessfully tried to bring the case within the arbitration agreement.
The courts refused, both because Redwood was not a party to the agreement, and because the claims came after the agreement terminated.