Mantor

I. BACKGROUND

Mantor began working for Circuit City in August 1992. When Mantor was first hired, Circuit City did not have an employee arbitration program. But in 1995, Circuit City established and implemented an arbitration program called the “Associate Issue Resolution Program” (“AIRP”). Circuit City’s managers were told it was important that its employees fully participate in the AIRP because the company had been losing money on account of lawsuits filed by employees.

Although in 1995 Circuit City circulated forms regarding employee participation in the AIRP, Mantor avoided signing the form or openly refused to participate in the AIRP for three years. In 1998, a District Manager and a Personnel Manager for Northern California arranged a meeting with Mantor to discuss his participation in the AIRP. During this meeting, Mantor asked the managers what would happen should he decline to participate in the arbitration program. In essence, the managers told him that he would have no future with Cir- cuit City. On September 13, 1998, Mantor signed the AIRP form, acknowledging in writing his receipt of (1) an “Asso- ciate Issue Resolution Handbook,” (2) the “Circuit City Dis- pute…