Dispute Resolution in the Workplace: Law and Practice (6033)

During the late 60’s and early 70’s, Congress passed protective labor legislation. This legislation made federal court the preferred forum for the adjudication of workplace disputes. Those employed in a non-union workplace, in which the employer has imposed a mandatory arbitration provision in the employee’s employment contract or in the employer’s employee-handbook, is presumed to be required to arbitrate all workplace disputes. This is so, irrespective of whether the dispute arises out of contract law or is the result of federal, state or local statutory protections for workers. There is a debate as to whether the use of mandatory arbitration in the workplace is continuing at the pace that it had been proceeding by the end of the 1990s. What is certain is that both arbitration and mediation are the primary dispute-resolution tools in today’s workplace. Anyone involved in employee relations, human resources administration, or advocacy on behalf of claimants and respondents needs to understand how each works and when to choose one rather than the other. Alternatively, one needs to understand how the two processes can work in tandem.
This two-credit short-course will explore the theories and skills necessary for the effective use of mediation and arbitration. The course does not presume that the student will necessarily be the advocate representing one side or the other in the actual mediation or the arbitration. Workplace policy-makers and administrators, too, should understand the theory and skills of each to be able to construct effective conflict resolution systems and to implement them effectively for their organizations.
The course will make a limited use of lectures. Instead, the course will rely heavily on: (1) a case study to permit the analysis and diagnosis of workplace conflict; (2) role-plays to practice some of the skills required in mediation and arbitration; and (3) small-group-focused exercises on specific problems to permit peer, as well as, self-learning.