The Supreme Court granted cert Friday in an employment arbitration case addressing whether the arbitrator or the court should determine the enforceability of an arbitration clause. The outcome could do mischief to the FAA and to Supreme Court precedent. Once again there is reason to lament the harm that the practice of employment arbitration is wreaking upon commercial arbitration principles. Read more »
In previous posts, I expressed concern that mandatory employment arbitration is having a bad effect on the practice of arbitration generally. As my older brother used to say, “Duh.” And here’s some more troublesome evidence of this regrettable trend. Read more »
The firm of Ogletree Deakins and St. Louis University recently held an all-day Employee Dispute Resolution Symposium at the University’s very beautiful Busch Student Center. The proceedings were well-attended and it was a privilege for me to be invited to present the opening remarks.
The comments of the various speakers, many from in-house corporate programs and some from outside attorneys, suggested that the “center” has shifted over the past few years, and that comprehensive conflict management programs that seriously address employee concerns rather than gearing up for employment arbitration are very much the norm these days. Read more »
The first part of this post analogized the use of arbitration to resolve employee disputes to using a wood chisel to smash a boulder — the wrong tool for the job. At its conclusion I said that, sympathetic as I am to employees, it was the effect on chisel, not the rock, that concerned me. This part explains why there is cause for concern. Read more »