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Arbitration: Time Limits And Continuing Violations, Richard I. Bloch

Michigan Law Review

Time limits in a collective bargaining agreement, particularly as they apply to the grievance procedure, are very important. Filing or processing deadlines are taken as seriously in the context of these private documents and negotiated time limits as they are in the world of standard litigation, with deadlines that are imposed statutorily or otherwise. Management advocates often view the time limitation provisions as virtually the only thing employers gain, as opposed to give, in the bargaining relationship. Deadlines have been strictly, if reluctantly, construed by most arbitrators. The "continuing violation" provides a meaningful exception to the otherwise immutable time bar. …