Parties agree to utilize arbitration—and decide on the terms of the arbitration—in advance of any dispute. Arbitration may be voluntary (meaning that, if a dispute arises, the parties still have to agree to submit that dispute to arbitration) or mandatory (meaning the parties must submit their dispute to arbitration).
The arbitrator's final decision on the case is called the “award.” This is like a judge's or jury's decision in a court case. Once the arbitrator decides that all of the parties' evidence and arguments have been presented, the arbitrator will close the hearings.
Arbitration is often in a condition of employment. For example, an employee complained that she's been biased and unfair. For example, research by Colvin reveals employees win 36.4 percent of discrimination cases in federal court and 43.8 percent in state court, but only 21.4 percent in arbitration.
Compulsory Arbitration is a mandatory program for disputes valued under $50,000. A court-appointed arbitrator reviews the case to decide a just resolution and award.
But two unspoken reasons are also driving the trend toward arbitration. First is the fact that arbitration results tend to favor employers over employees. There are lots of institutional reasons for this bias, starting with the fact that the corporation is responsible for actually paying the fees for the arbitrator.
Consumers are more likely to win in arbitration than in court. This research from ndp | analytics demonstrates that in disputes initiated by a consumer, consumers fare much better in arbitration than they do in litigation.
A claimant will typically start arbitration by sending a document known as a “request for arbitration” or a “notice to arbitrate” to its opponent.
There are typically seven stages of the arbitration process: Claimant Files a Claim. The first step for parties who want to file an arbitration claim is to submit the following to FINRA. Respondent Submits Answer. Parties Select Arbitrators. Parties Attend Initial Prehearing Conference. Parties Exchange Discovery.