Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Arbitrators are confronting a steadily increasing number of federal sector environmental differential pay (EDP) disputes. Claims for EDP rest both upon contractual provisions and the ambiguous language of a complex Federal Personnel Manual regulation. Although arbitrators have developed a number of relatively clear standards for determining entitlement to EDP, arbitral methods of allocating the burden of proof and of structuring remedies are less well defined.

The author argues that because arbitration awards are final and binding in the overwhelming majority of such cases, and because the issues in them frequently involve potentially serious health hazards and potentially enormous financial liability, careful thought and substantial industrial experience are essential in developing arbitral precedent in this area.