Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

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"Arbitrators generally hold that tests used in determining ability must be (1) specifically related to the requirements of the job, (2) fair and reasonable, (3) administered in good faith and without discrimination, and (4) properly evaluated."^ A review of rulings indicates that most arbitrators accept this statement and frequently incorporate it into their awards. Rarely is it asserted that "the employer has no right to require applicants to take written examinations"^ without contract language specifically forbidding their use.

Although arbitrators accept these four criteria, it does not necessarily, or even probably, follow that they competently evaluate them. In the first place, it is apparent from inspecting many cases that most unions base their position on a legal challenge to the right of the company to use testing as a means for determining qualifications.^ The arbitrator, in turn, determines his award on the legalistic question raised by the union and, on this specific issue, usually rules in favor of the company.