Arbitration is a dispute resolution mechanism agreed on by parties, which involves the appointment of one or more ar- bitrators to preside over and to make a final decision on a dispute between two or more parties – instead of approaching a court of law to resolve the dispute.
In many cases, arbitration provides less effective recourse to employees than court, though not always (labor unions routinely arbitrate grievances and in some cases it is an efficient mechanism of dispute resolution), but as others have pointed out, you may not be able to get a job if you refuse.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Arbitration At times, they try to overreach by twisting the terms and stipulations in their favor. Arbitrators are said to be not paying strict adherence to the law and at times compromise on the legal niceties, which costs the employees dearly.
The study found that in claims initiated by employees: Employees were more likely to win in arbitration (almost 38 percent) than in court (almost 11 percent).
Limited Appeal Options: One of the most significant downsides of arbitration is that it offers very limited options for appeal. Once the arbitrator makes a decision, it's usually final unless there was a substantial legal oversight.
Arbitration might be the right choice for some cases. Limited discovery rights and costs might be useful when less is at stake. Arbitration might feel less adversarial, which could be an advantage where ongoing relationships are hoped to be preserved. Arbitration lends some confidentiality.
(1) In this Part, "arbitration agreement" means an agreement by the parties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not.
For instance, if an arbitration agreement is signed as part of the initial employment contract, your employment can be valid consideration – You give up your rights to potential legal action in exchange for a job. However, what constitutes valid consideration in the employment context varies from state to state.
In some instances, you may be able to sue if you signed a valid arbitration agreement. While courts generally favor arbitration agreements, they will allow you to file a lawsuit if either you didn't understand your rights or your claims fall outside the arbitration provision's scope.
Arbitration agreements require that persons who signed them resolve any disputes by binding arbitration, rather than in court before a judge and/or jury. What is binding arbitration? Binding arbitration involves the submission of a dispute to a neutral party who hears the case and makes a decision.