Abstract
Mandatory arbitration procedures have expanded to become a common feature of American employment relations. This article presents the results of a new original survey examining the extent of mandatory arbitration, where it is most commonly used, and which employees it is most likely to affect. Overall, 53.9 percent of private sector business establishments, representing 56.2 percent of nonunion employees, have mandatory arbitration procedures. Larger employers are more likely to have adopted mandatory arbitration, as are workplaces with lower paid employees. Mandatory arbitration is particularly common in California, North Carolina, and Texas, but is widespread nationwide. Class action waivers are included in the mandatory arbitration agreements of 41.1 percent of the employees covered by these procedures. Some 39.5 percent of the mandatory arbitration procedures were adopted within the last five years, indicating that there has been a rapid recent growth in this practice. These findings indicate a metastasization of mandatory arbitration, where it has now replaced litigation as the most common method of enforcement of employment rights for nonunion employees, with potential major negative consequences for workers.
Recommended Citation
Alexander J. Colvin,
The Metastasization of Mandatory Arbitration,
94
Chi.-Kent L. Rev.
3
(2019).
Available at:
https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol94/iss1/2
Included in
Contracts Commons, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons, Labor and Employment Law Commons
