The Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law (BJELL) and The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy (The Institute) hosted Forced Arbitration In The Workplace: A Symposium on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) to examine forced arbitration of employment disputes and to explore the impact of this phenomenon on workplace rights. The goal of this full day Symposium brought together academics, practitioners, and others in the legal community to engage in a thoughtful dialogue and help raise awareness about forced arbitration of workplace disputes.
Focusing on workers' access to the civil justice system, the program included discussions on recent empirical research on employment arbitration outcomes, lack of representation at arbitration, arbitrator ethics, class action waivers and class arbitration, historical perspectives on the Federal Arbitration Act, the impact of arbitration law on contract law and federal preemption doctrines, and legal developments in enforcing or invalidating forced arbitration clauses.
Keynoting the Symposium, Professor Robert B. Reich spoke about "Why The American Worker Is Losing Ground." Professor Reich is the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. He served in three presidential administrations, most recently under President Bill Clinton as Secretary of Labor. He was also a member of President Barack Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board and is a co-founding editor of The American Prospect magazine. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, his M.A. from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Professor Reich’s most recent work includes the documentary Inequality For All, an exposé on America's widening income gap.
Focusing on workers' access to the civil justice system, the program included discussions on recent empirical research on employment arbitration outcomes, lack of representation at arbitration, arbitrator ethics, class action waivers and class arbitration, historical perspectives on the Federal Arbitration Act, the impact of arbitration law on contract law and federal preemption doctrines, and legal developments in enforcing or invalidating forced arbitration clauses.
Keynoting the Symposium, Professor Robert B. Reich spoke about "Why The American Worker Is Losing Ground." Professor Reich is the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. He served in three presidential administrations, most recently under President Bill Clinton as Secretary of Labor. He was also a member of President Barack Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board and is a co-founding editor of The American Prospect magazine. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, his M.A. from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Professor Reich’s most recent work includes the documentary Inequality For All, an exposé on America's widening income gap.
Our Distinguished Panelists Included:
Sarah Belton, Public Justice, PC
F. Paul Bland, Jr., Public Justice, PC
Professor Stephen McG. Bundy, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Professor Alexander J. S. Colvin, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Professor Christopher Drahozal, University of Kansas, School of Law
Professor Catherine L. Fisk, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Joseph D. Garrison, Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Richardson, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, PC, Arbitrator/Mediator
Mark Gough, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Professor Michael Z. Green, Texas A&M University School of Law
Professor David Lipsky, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Lindbergh Porter, Littler Mendelson, PC
Cliff Palefsky, McGuinn, Hillsman & Palefsky
Michael Rubin, Altshuler Berzon, LLP
Professor Jean R. Sternlight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law
Professor Imre Szalai, Loyola University New Orleans' College of Law
Barry Winograd, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), Arbitrator/Mediator
Other program highlights included "The Role Of The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," featuring Commissioner Jenny R. Yang and General Counsel P. David Lopez. Commissioner Yang and General Counsel Lopez discussed the role that the Commission might play to better preserve access to the legal system and the impact that recent Supreme Court decisions on mandatory arbitration and class waivers may have on the Commission's systemic enforcement program.
For information about ordering a BJELL Symposium Edition, please contact BJELL at bjell@law.berkeley.edu.
BJELL thanks The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy and the members of our steering committee for helping put on the event. Committee Members included: F. Paul Bland, Jr., Public Justice, PC; Carmen Comsti, The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy; Professor Catherine L. Fisk, University of California, Irvine School of Law; Acting Dean Gillian Lester, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall); David Rosenfeld, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, PC; Michael Rubin, Altshuler Berzon, LLP; and Professor Jean R. Sternlight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law.
Sarah Belton, Public Justice, PC
F. Paul Bland, Jr., Public Justice, PC
Professor Stephen McG. Bundy, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Professor Alexander J. S. Colvin, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Professor Christopher Drahozal, University of Kansas, School of Law
Professor Catherine L. Fisk, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Joseph D. Garrison, Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Richardson, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, PC, Arbitrator/Mediator
Mark Gough, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Professor Michael Z. Green, Texas A&M University School of Law
Professor David Lipsky, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Lindbergh Porter, Littler Mendelson, PC
Cliff Palefsky, McGuinn, Hillsman & Palefsky
Michael Rubin, Altshuler Berzon, LLP
Professor Jean R. Sternlight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law
Professor Imre Szalai, Loyola University New Orleans' College of Law
Barry Winograd, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), Arbitrator/Mediator
Other program highlights included "The Role Of The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," featuring Commissioner Jenny R. Yang and General Counsel P. David Lopez. Commissioner Yang and General Counsel Lopez discussed the role that the Commission might play to better preserve access to the legal system and the impact that recent Supreme Court decisions on mandatory arbitration and class waivers may have on the Commission's systemic enforcement program.
For information about ordering a BJELL Symposium Edition, please contact BJELL at bjell@law.berkeley.edu.
BJELL thanks The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy and the members of our steering committee for helping put on the event. Committee Members included: F. Paul Bland, Jr., Public Justice, PC; Carmen Comsti, The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy; Professor Catherine L. Fisk, University of California, Irvine School of Law; Acting Dean Gillian Lester, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall); David Rosenfeld, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, PC; Michael Rubin, Altshuler Berzon, LLP; and Professor Jean R. Sternlight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law.
| Symposium Flyer Available For Download |
