Supreme Court Decision Hurts Workers
The Supreme Court decision March 21 stating that employers have the right to require employees to resolve all workplace complaints, including discrimination claims, through binding arbitration could considerably weaken the body of employment law built up over the past 40 years, says Judith King, associate professor at the UAB Center for Labor Education and Research. Unions and companies have negotiated binding arbitration provisions for years. However, King says, there are some important differences between labor arbitration and what is endorsed in the Supreme Court ruling.
"Unions arbitrate on behalf of their members, and they bear the cost of those proceedings. In non-union cases, will employers be willing to bear the entire cost? Union members also don't waive their statutory rights when they go to arbitration, but this decision forces employees to sacrifice their statutory rights by making arbitration mandatory."
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