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Discharge In The "Law" Of Arbitration, Roland P. Wilder Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The vast majority of arbitrators will refuse to find just cause unless the discharge penalty bears some reasonable relation to the seriousness of the grievant's offense. They believe it to be their responsibility to determine whether the "punishment fits the crime" by realistically appraising the wrongful act's deleterious effects on the industrial community. If the grievant's proven offense appears to merit discipline short of discharge, the arbitrator usually will feel compelled to modify the discharge penalty in favor of some lesser degree of discipline. Since this amounts to a review of the penalty imposed by management, there is a substantial …