Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Fallout From 14 Penn Plaza V. Pyett: Fractured Arbitration Systems In The Unionized Workplace, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

First, the article will review the history of arbitration of statutory employment claims, including the Pyett decision. Second, the article will look at the history and causes of legalism in arbitration. Then the article will consider the probable responses of employers and unions to Pyett. While predictions are necessarily speculative, it is likely that some unionized employers will seek to require employees to arbitrate statutory claims, perhaps in higher percentages than in the nonunion workplace. While unions may, and perhaps should, resist, many future collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) may contain such provisions. The article then discusses the alternative dispute resolution …

Can Compulsory Arbitration Be Reconciled With Section 7 Rights?, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

Employers are increasingly imposing arbitration agreements on their employees as a condition of employment. These agreements force the employees to arbitrate, rather than litigate, any legal claims arising out of their employment. For employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act, such agreements may impair their rights to engage in concerted activity, since litigation of employment claims is protected by Section 7. Employee rights to file class actions, consolidate claims, and seek broad injunctive relief are concerted actions that are particularly threatened by the move to compelled arbitration. The Article analyzes the impact of arbitration agreements on various forms of …

Arbitration Of Statutory Claims In The Unionized Workplace: Is Bargaining With The Union Required?, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the question of whether arbitration of statutory claims should be classified as a mandatory or permissive subject of bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). First, this article reviews the post-Wright cases that hold that a union-negotiated waiver is permissible. Second, this article reviews the only decision to consider the issue of classification of the bargaining subject, Air Line Pilots Ass'n, International v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., a case arising in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia under the Railway Labor Act. In that case, the court concluded that the …

Judicial Review Of Arbitration Awards On Public Policy Grounds: Lessons From The Case Law, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

A review of the case law demonstrates that most of the labor arbitration awards challenged on public policy grounds involve reinstatement of discharged employees. This article analyzes 138 private sector federal cases in which labor arbitration ·awards have been contested on public policy grounds. All the cases reviewed are discharge cases in which arbitration awards reversing the terminations were challenged. The article attempts to determine the factors that influence courts to uphold or overturn arbitration awards. This analysis will provide assistance to arbitrators in writing opinions that are less subject to challenge, and to employers, unions, and their attorneys in …

Protecting Unionized Employees Against Discrimination: The Fourth Circuit's Misinterpretation Of Supreme Court Precedent, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article will first review the Supreme Court's arbitration jurisprudence, concentrating on labor and employment law cases. Next, the article will analyze the cases involving arbitration under collective bargaining agreements decided by the courts of appeals subsequent to Gilmer. The article will then evaluate the two different approaches of the circuit courts in light of the law relating to collective bargaining and union representation. Finally, the article will review alternative methods of protecting employee rights to determine whether unions can preserve employees' statutory rights under the rule of the Fourth Circuit. The article concludes that the Supreme Court should …

The Interplay Of Civil Service And Collective Bargaining Law In Public Sector Employee Discipline Cases, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article undertakes such a review with respect to one aspect of the potential conflict between merit systems and collective bargaining- employee discipline and the appeal of discipline decisions. Protection from arbitrary or unjust discipline is a primary motivation for employee unionization. As a result, achieving protection from unjust disciplinary action becomes a fundamental goal of unions in collective bargaining. Public sector unions in the United States are particularly interested in "discipline, grievance procedures and organizational due process"....

Section IV of this article reviews the approaches of the various states that have addressed the issue, analyzing them in light of …

The Steelworkers Trilogy In The Public Sector, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article will examine the role of the Trilogy principles, including the public policy exception, in judicial enforcement of arbitration agreements in the public sector. First the article will review the applicable law in the private sector regarding judicial arbitration enforcement. Then, the article will discuss the role of the courts in public sector arbitration, concluding that while courts frequently pay lip service to the Trilogy principles, in reality they often fail to apply them. Finally, the article will analyze the arguments for and against application of the deferential Trilogy standards in the public sector in light of the distinctive …