82
Opinion of the Court
cally limits its grievance procedure to disputes related to the agreement.2
* * *
We hold that the collective-bargaining agreement in this case does not contain a clear and unmistakable waiver of the covered employees' rights to a judicial forum for federal claims of employment discrimination. We do not reach the question whether such a waiver would be enforceable. The judgment of the Fourth Circuit is vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
2 Respondents and some of their amici rely upon the provision in the ADA which states that "[w]here appropriate and to the extent authorized by law, the use of alternative means of dispute resolution, including . . . arbitration, is encouraged to resolve disputes arising under this chapter." 42 U. S. C. § 12212. They rely upon it principally in connection with the question whether, under Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U. S. 20 (1991), a predispute agreement in a CBA to arbitrate employment-discrimination claims is enforceable—a question we do not reach. Our conclusion that a union waiver of employee rights to a federal judicial forum for employment-discrimination claims must be clear and unmistakable means that, absent a clear waiver, it is not "appropriate," within the meaning of this provision of the ADA, to find an agreement to arbitrate. We take no position, however, on the effect of this provision in cases where a CBA clearly encompasses employment-discrimination claims, or in areas outside collective bargaining.
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