Employment Law And Arbitration | Assessment

Running Head: EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ARBITRATION
EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ARBITRATION
Name of the Students
Name of the University
Author’s Note

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ARBITRATION1
Arbitration is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution System wherein the third neutral
party decides the case between the parties. Such neutral third party is selected by the parties with
their mutual agreement. It is an alternative to the litigation as remedy against the disputes
between the parties. Arbitration can be used to resolve labor conflicts as an alternative to other
aggressive methods like strikes and lockouts. However, in US, the Court’s interpretation of the
Federal Arbitration Act has drawn huge impact on the class actions being instituted by the
employees or workers against their employers (Horton 2018). The Coal Strike of 1902 (Stace
2015) stands as a backdrop to favor the arbitration by the government. In such cases, the
arbitrator decides the terms and conditions for the collective bargaining and it is called the
interest arbitration.
An effectively drafted arbitration agreement or the inclusion of arbitration clause in the
original contract between the parties stands as the binding clause upon the parties to refer to
arbitration in case of disputes. In AT & T Mobility vs. Conception 563 US 333 (2011), it has
been explained that the Supreme Court of US upheld the validity of the arbitration clause in a
consumer contract. However, such clause for arbitration resulted in waiving of the right of the
person to lawsuit and the right to class action. However, in Epic Systems Corp. vs. Lewis 584
US ___ (2018), it was held by the Supreme Court that the legal issue in the case is whether the
arbitration clause can legally bar the employees class actions or collective arbitration. In the
determination of this question, the Supreme Court relied upon following case laws: Ernst &
Young LLP vs. Morris (2013) (19-300), National Labor Relations Board vs. Murphy Oil USA,
Inc (2015) (16-307) and Epic Systems Corp. vs. Lewis (Docket 16-285 (2015)). In all the cases
the major dispute lied between the applicability of Federation Arbitration Act and National
Labor Relations Act 1935.