Arbitrating Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge Claims: Possibilities and Practicalities

Robert Lusk

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DOI: 10.2190/4GQU-61M1-ULVL-X8CA

Abstract

In Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 US___, 111 S.Ct. 1647, 114 L.Ed.2d 26 (1991), the United States Supreme Court held that age discrimination claims brought pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 USC §§621 et seq., were subject to arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 USC §§ et seq. This decision raises the prospect that all statutory and common law employment-based claims may be subjected to arbitration: a less expensive, less time-consuming, and often more predictable process than litigation. This article reviews the history of the arbitrability of employment claims, the Supreme Court's decision in Gilmer, and questions left unanswered by that decision. The author concludes that most employers will benefit from arbitrating employment-based claims.

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