Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

With the Supreme Court's decision in Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. in 1974, the possibility that employers would choose to remove discrimination issues from the arbitrator's jurisdiction was raised. This, in turn, brought up the question whether such an action would violate employee rights under the statute. While it is too early to draw final conclusions, it appears that employers have found that the benefits of arbitrating discrimination claims outweigh the costs of taking such cases into other forums. The authors argue that by excluding claims from arbitration cognizable under Title VII, "the employer is effectively making employment-classification decisions using criteria prohibited" by the Civil Rights Act and that such an exclusion will cause irreparable harm to minorities and women.