The war at home

A woman who served as a civilian contractor in Iraq and alleges that her supervisor and a State Department employee raped her must arbitrate her claims against her former employer Service Employees International Inc., its parent company Halliburton Co. and related companies (the Halliburton defendants) stemming from the attacks, a U.S. District Court ordered on Jan. 30. In Barker, et al., v. Halliburton Co., et al., Tracy K. Barker alleged that while serving in Iraq she was constantly sexually harassed by her co-workers and direct supervisor for several months, culminating in two incidents of rape, according to the order issued by U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller. After Barker sued the Halliburton defendants, they sought to enforce an arbitration clause in her employment agreement. The district court found the arbitration agreement to be valid and the dispute to be within the scope of the agreement. Barker, the court noted, argued that some of her tort claims were based on incidents that occurred outside of her work in Iraq and as a result outside the scope of the arbitration clause. But the district court did not accept that argument. "[O]verseas employees do not have bright lines between their working time and their leisure time." the court stated. "Accordingly, all of Barker's claims fall within the scope of the employment agreement and its arbitration clause."
-- Jonathan Fox