Law Commons^™

Labor And Employment Arbitration Today: Mid-Life Crisis Or New Golden Age?, Theodore J. St. Antonie

Articles

The major developments in employer-employee arbitration currently do not involve labor arbitration, that is, arbitration between employers and unions. The focus is on employment arbitration, arbitration between employers and individual employees. Beginning around 1980, nearly all the states judicially modified the standard American doctrine of employment-at-will whereby, absent a statutory or contractual prohibition, an employer could fire an employee "for good cause, for no cause, or even for cause morally wrong." Under the new regime, grounded in expansive contract and public policy theories, wrongfully discharged employees often reaped bonanzas in court suits, with California jury awards averaging around $425,000." Many …

Inside The Arbitrator's Mind, Chris Guthrie, Susan D. Franck, Anne Van Aaken, James Freda, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Arbitrators are lead actors in global dispute resolution. They are to global dispute resolution what judges are to domestic dispute resolution. Despite its global significance, arbitral decision making is a black box. This Article is the first to use original experimental research to explore how international arbitrators decide cases. We find that arbitrators often make intuitive and impressionistic decisions, rather than fully deliberative decisions. We also find evidence that casts doubt on the conventional wisdom that arbitrators render “split the baby” decisions. Although direct comparisons are difficult, we find that arbitrators generally perform at least as well as, but never …

The Corporate Exploitation Of Fundamental Rights: A Nation Of Arbitration, Melanie A. Carlson

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis is an in-depth discussion and analysis of the alternative dispute resolution process of arbitration in the United States. It begins by providing a basic explanatory overview of arbitration clauses and the arbitration process. It then goes on to highlight the various benefits over traditional court litigation that arbitration has to offer. From there, the paper presents a detailed discussion of the many shortcomings of the arbitration process. It identifies the overall lack of procedural fairness that exists in arbitration today due to the fact that arbitration currently tends to favor businesses over consumers and workers during dispute settlements. …

The Uberization Of Arbitration Clauses, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In the early part of this decade, the Supreme Court’s decisions interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) strictly enforced predispute arbitration clauses (PDAAs) with class action waivers and so-called “delegation” provisions in consumer contracts. Just after the Court’s 2013 ruling that clauses with class action waivers did not prevent claimants from vindicating their statutory rights, Uber— a company at the heart of the “gig economy”—started inserting PDAAs in agreements with its drivers and passengers. Uber’s move has generated dozens of challenges to its clause in lawsuits across the country, and thus dozens of federal court opinions contributing to modern FAA …

Between The Hash Marks: The Absolute Power The Nfl’S Collective Bargaining Agreement Grants Its Commissioner, Eric L. Einhorn

Brooklyn Law Review

The National Football League has recently faced an onslaught of public criticism stemming from its handling of disciplinary matters over the last few years. This note engages in a comparative analysis of the disciplinary processes of the four major professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Hockey League (NHL), to determine why Commissioner Goodell’s disciplinary decisions have received such public criticism and have been challenged by the National Football League Players Association. While examining the cases of Tom Brady and Adrian Peterson, this note will address the question of …

The Three Phases Of The Supreme Court’S Arbitration Jurisprudence: Empowering The Already-Empowered, Martin H. Malin

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Whistling In Silence: The Implications Of Arbitration On Qui Tam Claims Under The False Claims Act, Mathew Andrews

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

For nearly twenty years, corporate defendants have sought unsuccessfully to use arbitration to roll back protections for whistleblowers suing under federal law. The state and federal judiciaries have long stymied these efforts, on the grounds that defendants cannot force the Government's claims into the secretive forum of arbitration. In January 2013, this protection came to an end. A federal court ruled for the first time that a whistleblower suing on behalf of the United States must pursue its action in arbitration. Five months later, this trend continued as federal courts have compelled arbitration of state law qui tam actions. This …

Union Representation In Employment Arbitration, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

Employers in recent years have promulgated arbitration programs to resolve disputes with their present and former employees. Arbitration may in many cases provide a lower-cost forum than litigation for resolving such disputes. But the problem of representation of Americans of modest incomes still remains. Ann Hodges explores in this chapter whether labor unions can help address that representation gap.

Mika V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 71 (Sep. 24, 2015), Kory Koerperich

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The court denied extraordinary writ relief from the district court’s decision to compel arbitration between Petitioners and their employer based on a long-form arbitration agreement signed only by the Petitioners, and federal law favoring arbitration agreements.

An Essay Challenging The Racially Biased Selection Of Arbitrators For Employment Discrimination Suits, Michael Z. Green

Michael Z. Green

Since 1991, employers have increasingly decided to require that employees agree to arbitrate statutory employment discrimination claims as a condition of employment. This Essay seeks to expose some of the potential discriminatory components that may arise in the arbitrator selection process while highlighting the lack of legal remedy for those who believe that employers, in conjunction with neutral service provders, have stacked the pool in favor of having arbitrators who tend to be older, white and male. The Essay suggests the use of 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 as a potential remedy and challenge to the dearth of arbitrators of color …

Employee Beware! Employment Agreements And What The Technology Related Employee Should Know And Understand Before Signing That Agreement: A Practical Guide, Louis J. Papa

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Analysis Of Noncompetition Clauses And Other Restrictive Postemployment Covenants, Randall Thomas

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Employment contracts for most employees are not publicly available, leaving researchers to speculate about whether they contain postemployment restrictions on employee mobility, and if so, what those provisions look like. Using a large sample of publicly available CEO employment contracts, we are able to examine these noncompetition covenants, including postemployment covenants not to compete ("CNCs" or "noncompetes'), nonsolicitation agreements ("NSAs"), and nondisclosure agreements ("NDAs'). What we found confirms some long-held assumptions about restrictive covenants but also uncovers some surprises.

We begin by discussing why employers use restrictive covenants and examining how the courts have treated them. We then analyze an …

Arbitration Whack-A-Mole: The Federal Policy Favoring Arbitration Hammers The Rights Of Individual Employees, Spring E. Taylor

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In a country that protects the plaintiff's right to a day in court, it only seems natural that Sally should have the opportunity to take her cause to the courthouse. But the strong fedral presumption that supports the enforcement of arbitration provisions is like a hammber that pushes plaintiffs like Sally and those if Huffman into the arbitration arena. In Huffman, the Sixth Circuit rescued an employwer from an ambiguous arbitration provision contained in the employer-drafted employment agreement and enforced the arbitration provision as one of the provisions to survive expiration of the contract, even though it was not listed …

Dick Woodson's Revenge: The Evolution Of Salary Arbitration In Major League Baseball, Edward Silverman

Pepperdine Law Review

This paper examines the evolution of salary arbitration in professional baseball through the lens of the original 1974 Dick Woodson salary arbitration. Part II discusses the general development of labor relations in professional baseball, with an emphasis on how and why salary arbitration came to be implemented. Part III focuses specifically on Dick Woodson’s salary arbitration and how that experience shaped the immediate evolution of the practice and informed the current state of affairs in Major League Baseball (“MLB”). Part IV discusses MLB’s salary arbitration rules and how the process actually works. Part V addresses prevailing criticisms of baseball style …

Employment Arbitration Reform: Preserving The Right To Class Proceedings In Workplace Disputes, Javier J. Castro

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The recent judicial enforcement of class waivers in arbitration agreements has generated ample debate over the exact reach of these decisions and their effects on the future of collective action for consumers and employees. In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court majority held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempted state laws prohibiting companies from incorporating class action waivers into arbitration agreements. The Court upheld such waivers on the grounds that they are consistent with the language and underlying purpose of the FAA. Most courts across the country have since reinforced the strong federal policy …

Employment Arbitration At The Crossroads: An Assessment And Call For Action, Stephen L. Hayford, Jamie Darin Prenkert, Anjanette H. Raymond

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Arbitration agreements must be on equal footing with all types of contracts. This stark reality demands that the various stakeholders in the arbitration community converge in the interest of designing and institutionalizing arbitration mechanics and processes that, as a start, exceed the minimum requirements to avoid arguments of substantive unconscionability and, more broadly, provide the fair, just, and accountable alternative dispute resolution system the FAA and the U.S. Supreme Court have indicated it can be. This paper seeks to guide this next stage of the debate by first reviewing the doctrinal developments over the past thirty years that led to …

The Many Lanes Out Of Court: Against Privatization Of Employment Discrimination Disputes, Theresa M. Beiner

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forced Arbitration Undermines Enforcement Of Federal Laws By Suppressing Consumers' And Employees' Ability To Bring Claims, Jean R. Sternlight

Congressional Testimony

Testimony of Professor Jean R. Sternlight to the Senate Judiciary Committee, arguing for the passage of the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013.

Is The Antidiscrimination Project Being Ended?, Michael J. Zimmer

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

What The Awards Tell Us About Labor Arbitration Of Employment Discrimination Claims, Ariana R. Levinson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article contributes to the debate over mandatory arbitration of employment-discrimination claims in the unionized sector. In light of the proposed prohibition on union waivers in the Arbitration Fairness Act, this debate has significant practical implications. Fundamentally, the Article is about access to justice. It examines 160 labor arbitration opinions and awards in employment-discrimination cases. The author concludes that labor arbitration is a forum in which employment-discrimination claims can be-and, in some cases, are-successfully resolved. Based upon close examination of the opinions and awards, the Article recommends legislative improvements in certain cases targeting statutes of limitations, compulsory process, remedies, class …

Enjoining Politically Motivated Strikes In Federal Courts: The Jacksonville Bulk Terminals Case, Mark A. Ozzello

Pepperdine Law Review

The United States Supreme Court, in Jacksonville Bulk Terminals, Inc. v. International Longshoremen's Association, acknowledged that a work stoppage entirely motivated by political goals constitutes a "labor dispute" within the Norris-La Guardia Act which is prohibited from injunctive relief by a federal court. In so ruling, the Supreme Court found the Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union and Buffalo Forge Co. v. United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO exceptions, which allow an injunction to issue pending arbitration in situations where the dispute underlying the work stoppage is arbitrable, to be inapplicable to the no-strike clause in the collective-bargaining agreement scrutinized. …

Egaps - Arbitration Plans For Nonunion Employees , Charles J. Morris

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Sector Labor Arbitration: Differences, Problems, Cures , Dennis R. Nolan

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Arbitration Of Employment Disputes In The Securities Industry: A Study Of Finra Awards, 1986-2008, David B. Lipsky, Ronald L. Seeber, J. Ryan Lamare

David B Lipsky

[Excerpt] This article reports on the results of our recent study of 3,200 arbitration awards issued in employment cases administered under the auspices of FINRA, its predecessor the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It responds to Colvin’s call for more empirical research while providing some data on the debate over the fairness of mandatory employment arbitration agreements in the securities industry. After disclosing the limitations of our study and presenting our findings with regard to the FINRA cases, we consider how these findings bear on the debate about mandatory arbitration, specifically whether …

Employment Law And Social Equality, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Michigan Law Review

What is the normative justification for individual employment law? For a number of legal scholars, the answer is economic efficiency. Other scholars argue, to the contrary, that employment law protects against (vaguely defined) imbalances of bargaining power and exploitation. Against both of these positions, this Article argues that individual employment law is best understood as advancing a particular conception of equality. That conception, which many legal and political theorists have called social equality, focuses on eliminating hierarchies of social status. This Article argues that individual employment law, like employment discrimination law, is justified as preventing employers from contributing to or …

"Riding With The Cops And Cheering For The Robbers:" Employee Speech, Doctrinal Cubbyholes, And The Duty Of Loyalty, Marvin F. Hill Jr., James A. Wright

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mandatory Predispute Consumer Arbitration, Structural Bias, And Incentivizing Procedural Safeguards, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Within the past several decades, there has been an explosion in the creation, institutionalization and use of “alternative” dispute resolution procedures. Mandatory predispute arbitration has generated the most controversy because it appears beset with structural bias. The recent cases of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion and Compucredit Corp. v. Greenwood have raised additional concerns as the Supreme Court has announced that corporations can force consumers to arbitrate their private and statutory claims and give up their rights to pursue class relief. This Article begins by arguing that the Supreme Court’s enthusiastic embrace of mandatory predispute arbitration should be understood primarily …

Private Resolution Of Public Disputes: Employment, Arbitration, And The Statutory Cause Of Action, Griffin Toronjo Pivateau

Pace Law Review

In this Article, I argue that arbitration agreements fall somewhere along the middle of the rights/contract continuum. My understanding of the nature of arbitration agreements relies on a previously existing area of employment law. There is a particular aspect of the employment relationship that, while open to contract, remains subject to constraints imposed by the law. A noncompete agreement permits an employee to contract with his employer to not work for a competitor following the termination of the employment relationship. This right to contract away the right to compete is, however, narrowly construed by the court system. A court may …

An Empirical Study Of Employment Arbitration: Case Outcomes And Processes, Alexander Colvin

Alexander Colvin

Using data from reports filed by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) pursuant to California Code requirements, this article examines outcomes of employment arbitration. The study analyzes 3,945 arbitration cases, of which 1,213 were decided by an award after a hearing, filed and reaching disposition between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2007. This includes all the employment arbitration cases administered nationally by the AAA during this time period that derived from employer-promulgated arbitration procedures. Key findings include: (1) the employee win rate amongst the cases was 21.4%, which is lower than employee win rates reported in employment litigation trials; (2) …

Rethinking Bargaining Unit Determination: Labor Law And The Structure Of Collective Representation In A Changing Workplace, Alexander Colvin

Alexander Colvin

[Excerpt] Arguably the leading issue for current labor law research is whether the existing system of law based on the Wagner Act model can continue to be relevant and appropriate for the contemporary workplace. Changes in the environment of work during the over half-century since this model was developed have brought pressures for re-evaluation and adaptation of key elements of its structure. Criticism of this system has focused on a number of areas, including: the reliance on the formal grievance procedure and arbitration; the separation of the realms of collective bargaining and business decision making; the limitations on employee participation …