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The Phoenix Suns required staff to agree to new legal conditions this spring, limiting their ability to sue the organization, while the team fights several lawsuits from current and former employees.
On May 27, workers at the NBA team were notified by email that an updated two-part handbook was being issued. Part A contained 50 pages covering diversity, equity, and inclusion, workplace respect, benefits, and arena rules, much of it repeated from the prior year’s version.
The difference was Part B, a four-page document titled “Confidential Information, Intellectual Property, and Dispute Resolution Agreement.” According to team sources, the section introduced contractual obligations that employees were told were a condition of both new and continued employment. Staff were asked to acknowledge the terms via an external website within three days.
Binding arbitration at center of dispute
The handbook language required that “all legal disputes and claims identified below shall be determined exclusively by final and binding individual arbitration,” with terms surviving even after employment ended.
The provision extended to discrimination claims, an issue at the center of multiple lawsuits against the team. Before arbitration, disputes would first be handled through confidential mandatory mediation. Exceptions applied only for violations of state or federal law.
Attorneys told ESPN that while such agreements are becoming more common, requiring them partway through employment could be legally questionable.
“They have been, and are becoming, close to industry standard in corporate America,” said Patrick Hammon, a San Francisco-based corporate litigator. “What makes this situation more unique is that it appears that these new terms are being imposed upon employees mid-stream.”
He added that courts in Arizona usually require consideration - some form of benefit to employees - in exchange for a modification to an employment relationship. “In Arizona, courts generally will not view ‘continued employment’ as sufficient,” Hammon said.
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Employees allege intimidation as lawsuits mount
Lawyers representing former Suns employees said the process created pressure rather than protection.
“Instead of addressing these issues, the organization is pressuring employees to sign away their rights with only three days’ notice or risk losing their jobs,” said attorney Cortney Walters. “Mandatory arbitration denies people their day in court and hides systemic problems from the public.”
The Suns pushed back on that, saying: “This policy is standard at most large organizations including Disney, ESPN, and many other NBA teams. This policy does not result in the waiver of claims,” according to Stacey Mitch, the Suns’ Senior Vice President of Communications.
The team has been sued six times since October 2024, including one case filed in August by two minority owners over access to records. The other five suits came from current or former staff alleging discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination. The Suns have denied the allegations.
