Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

The discharge case presents the labor arbitrator with a difficult task. He is asked by labor and management to decide whether an employee's discharge was for just cause, but be is not otherwise guided by the parties' collective agreement as to what constitutes sufficient grounds for upholding, or setting aside, a termination.'

The author suggests that a discharge case should be decided on the basis of a principle of prediction. An arbitrator should determine whether what the employee has done in the past indicates that be will not be able to fulfill his employment obligations in the future. The author then goes on to apply this principle of prediction to a variety of typical discharge scenarios.