Compulsory Employment Arbitration and the EEOC

Abstract

This Article examines the EEOC's opposition to compulsory employment arbitration, and evaluates its likely impact. Part II introduces the EEOC, focusing on the specific powers Congress has given or denied the agency to enforce the federal anti-discrimination laws. Part III provides a brief history and overview of employment arbitration. Part IV analyzes the EEOC Policy Statement on employment arbitration, and considers whether and to what extent courts are likely to defer to it. Part V discusses the EEOC's use of its prosecutorial powers to challenge and circumvent arbitration agreements, and examines the relevant and analogous case law. Part VI concludes that neither the EEOC's Policy Statement nor its litigation efforts are likely to have a substantial effect on the current judicial trend toward acceptance of employment arbitration agreements.