Q: Hey, I'm thinking filing an arbitration case with AAA. If I lose, am I obliged to pay legal bills for the employer?

A: It would be best for an employment law attorney to advise you, but you await a response for two weeks. As a GENERAL matter with American Arbitration Association arbitrations for property & casualty insurance claims NOT INVOLVING employment matters, my experience has been that claimants are not the charged legal fees of the other side if they do not prevail. But different sectors of civil arbitration could be subject to their own rules and protocols. I cannot speak for employment arbitrations. You could contact the American Arbitration Association and ask a Case Administrator what the protocols are for employment arbitrations, or if you contemplate retaining an attorney, asking them. Ask them also about confidentiality - with property & casualty arbitrations, the process was not confidential. Selected cases would sometimes appear in publications or were posted and became precedent for future proceedings. Good luck

Tim Akpinar

A: Addendum - I stated that my experience with property & casualty arbitrations with the American Arbitration is that they were not confidential. Just to clarify - although the decisions of cases could become part of public records, the proceedings themselves were not public in the way that court proceedings could be open to the public. The hearings were generally limited to the two parties and their attorneys and any witnesses. Again, I advise you clarify with one of the Case Administrators as to protocols for employment-related arbitrations. Good luck

Tim Akpinar