Binding arbitration ruling
Dottie
56 Posts
I would be interested in feedback from the attorneys regarding the Supreme Court ruling on March 21 regarding binding arbitration. From what I understand, any employer may require all employees to sign an agreement either prior or post job offer that would agree to arbitrate any and all workplace disputes. Should all of us begin drafting such a document for our workers to sign?
Comments
Some of the upsides of arbitration are that it is generally less costly from an attorney's fees standpoint than a trial, it is quicker than traditional litigation (which in some cases can be a down side, because both the employee and the employer usually need a "cooling off" period), and if a full dispute resolution program is correctly designed for your company, it can be a benefit and resolve many disputes short of any type of litigation or arbitration.
I suggest that any company that is considering implementing such a program, work with experienced employment attorneys and develop a whole dispute resolution procedure (including things like an open door policy, mediation before arbitration or peer review committee type of things).
Good Luck!
Julie Athey
Senior Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers
Check out this link for some articles on setting up an ADR process:
[url]http://www.elinfonet.com/OLR_RZ.php[/url]
Click on Human Resources > Arbitration of Claims > General/HR Issues