Arbitrate or Litigate? Choose Your Poison

With the costs of defending employment discrimination lawsuits continuing to escalate, employers continue to search for alternatives. One alternative is a method of resolving disputes without involving the judicial system: arbitration. In arbitration, an individual or a panel of independent persons is appointed to hear a claim and resolve the dispute. Parties can contract to resolve disputes through arbitration in advance or after a dispute arises. Once a claim arises, however, one party may want to enforce the decision to arbitrate while the other party would prefer litigation. In such cases, the party supporting arbitration will often seek a judicial order to compel arbitration. In many cases, this action is brought by the employer after a former employee has filed an administrative charge or a lawsuit, rather than requesting arbitration.