COMPULSORY ARBITRATION OF NONUNION EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES

In response to costly legal battles and proliferating causes of action for alleged employer misconduct, employers in the United States are b eginning to require their employees to sign contracts that mandate bin ding arbitration of any employment dispute. These arbitration contract s have been the focus of much litigation because they compel employees to waive their right to sue their employers for employment discrimina tion, tortious conduct, and any other dispute that arises out of the e mployment relation. In Gilmer v. Interstate / Johnson Lane Corp. (1991 ), the U.S. Supreme Court cracked opened the door to the legitimacy of these contracts by sanctioning compulsory arbitration of an age discr imination claim. In the ensuing years, lower courts nationwide, except in the Sixth Circuit (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee), have i nterpreted Gilmer to mean that employees can be required to arbitrate almost any employee rights question, provided that certain procedural guidelines are followed. This article presents an overview of the law and the literature in this area to assist human resource managers in d esigning a compulsory arbitration policy that will both survive legal scrutiny and operate to the mutual advantage of both employer and empl oyee.