Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recent public policy and ethical issues as they relate to the growing usage of nonunion employment arbitration particularly in relation to financial services firms and professional firms. In this era of increasing employment-related litigation, it is wise from an employer’s point of view to find alternative procedures that offer assurances of fairness yet provide expeditious means for resolving disputes. From an employee’s vantage point, however, it is essential that the fundamental issue of procedural and substantive due process be maintained and guaranteed. Therefore, a number of strategic ethical issues arise: How should employment arbitration procedures be designed following the Due Process Protocol of the Task Force on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment? How should arbitration procedures follow the national rules for the resolution of employment disputes of the American Arbitration Association? Do recent court decisions shed light on these issues? What ethical principles can be gleaned from these public policy pronouncements? A final objective of this paper is to study some of the current initiatives on this topic.
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Debra Berman is currently a law student at the American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of The McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Miss Berman is the Founder and President of the American University Washington College of Law’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Society and is a certified mediator.
Dr. Douglas M. McCabe is Professor of Management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of twenty academic and professional journals. He is the author of over 200 articles, papers, monographs, and speeches presented at professional and scholarly meetings in the field of employee relations. Considered by the media to be an expert in his field, he has been interviewed more than 250 times on international (CNN), national (ABC, NBC, and CBS), and local television and radio as the networks have sought his views on critical domestic, international, and ethical issues in employee and labor relations. Dr. McCabe is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and he holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
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Berman, D., McCabe, D.M. Compulsory Arbitration in Nonunion Employee Relations: A Strategic Ethical Analysis. J Bus Ethics 66, 197–206 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-5576-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-5576-0