Overview

• On May 27, staff were given three days to acknowledge a new Part B handbook agreement that requires confidential mediation followed by final, binding individual arbitration for covered workplace disputes.
• The agreement applies to claims including employment discrimination and states the obligation extends beyond employment, with exceptions for matters that would constitute violations of state or federal laws.
• Suns communications executive Stacey Mitch said the policy is standard at large organizations and does not waive claims, while ESPN reported Disney and ESPN do not require new hires to accept mandatory arbitration.
• Attorneys for former employees called the process coercive, arguing the requirement pressures workers to give up court access and obscures patterns of misconduct.
• The franchise faces six lawsuits since October 2024, including five from current or former employees and a late‑August records‑access suit by minority owners, and it remains unclear how many staffers signed the agreement.