The facts:

A company sent an e-mail to all its employees detailing a new arbitration agreement for age discrimination claims. Employees weren’t asked to sign a paper document, or do anything else to acknowledge they got it. A year later, an employee sued for age discrimination, claiming he never saw the document.

The employer said:

The agreement was sent to all employees, and posted to the company intranet. Everyone should have had the chance to see it.

Who won the case?

Answer: The employee.

Why: The court ruled that sending an e-mail without following through didn’t give them sufficient enough notice about the agreement.

What’s the lesson? Despite the ease of sending the document through e-mail, things would have been a lot simpler if the company had just given it to them on paper.

Cite: Campbell v. General Dynamics Government Systems Corp.

A group of Santa Fe residents is taking the city to task over WiFi Internet systems installed in public buildings.

Why? They claim they’re allergic to the wireless signal. They say the city’s violating the ADA by limiting their access to those buildings.

ADA cases involving sensitivity to perfume and other chemicals have made it to court with varying results, but so far, no court has ever ruled on whether so-called “electro-sensitivity” can be considered a disability under the law.

Experts say it’s unlikely for a company to be sued by an employee over this issue, but stranger things have certainly happened. If electro-sensitivity ever gets legal protection, employers would be in big trouble, since many workplace run their own WiFi networks.

We’ll keep you posted as the case moves forward.