312
Thomas, J., dissenting
(noting that one purpose of the FAA is to place arbitration agreements " 'upon the same footing as other contracts' " (citation omitted)). The Court's reasoning, for example, forecloses the argument that it would be inappropriate under 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-5(g)(1) for a court to award victim-specific relief in any case where an employee had already settled his claim. If the statutory provision, according to the Court, does not "permit a court to announce a categorical rule precluding an expressly authorized form of relief as inappropriate in all cases in which the employee has signed an arbitration agreement," then it surely does not "constitute authorization for [a] judge-made, per se rul[e]" barring the EEOC from obtaining victim-specific remedies on behalf of an employee who has signed a valid settlement agreement. Ante, at 292, 293.
Unfortunately, it is therefore likely that under the logic of the Court's opinion the EEOC now will be able to seek victim-specific relief in court on behalf of employees who have already settled their claims. Such a result, however, would contradict this Court's suggestion in Gilmer that employment discrimination disputes "can be settled . . . without any EEOC involvement." 500 U. S., at 28. More importantly, it would discourage employers from entering into settlement agreements and thus frustrate Congress' desire to expedite relief for victims of discrimination, see Ford Motor Co. v. EEOC, 458 U. S., at 221; Occidental Life, 432 U. S., at 364-365, and to resolve employment discrimination disputes out of court. See 42 U. S. C. § 12212 (encouraging alternative means of dispute resolution, including settlement negotiations, to avoid litigation under the ADA).
III
Rather than allowing the EEOC to undermine a valid and enforceable arbitration agreement between an employer and an employee in the manner sanctioned by the Court today, I would choose a different path. As this Court has stated,
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