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136 Int'l Lab. Rev. 95 (1997)
Can Alternative Dispute Resolution Help Resolve Employment Disputes

handle is hein.journals/intlr136 and id is 105 raw text is: International Labour Review, Vol. 136 (1997), No. 1 (Spring) Can Alternative Dispute Resolution help resolve employment disputes? Arnold M. ZACK * n many countries an increase in legislation protecting workers' rights, an increasingly educated and litigious population, budgetary constraints and very limited resources for enforcement agencies and the courts combine to create a growing backlog of cases pending before administrative agencies, labour and industrial tribunals and the courts. This in turn hurts workers whose complaints get put on ever lengthening waiting lists, with dimming prospects of prompt or effective relief from employment injustices. Often the problem is exacerbated by claimants' need to rely upon attorneys to pursue their claims, which adds to the costs and delays already inherent in appeals through the judicial system. These administrative and structural impedi- ments portend ever more restricted access to society's protections for the poor and disadvantaged. In this context, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offers a means of bringing workplace justice to more people, at lower cost and with greater speed than do conventional government channels. It also holds promise for clearing the backlogs of labour agencies and tribunals, thereby helping government agencies to meet their societal responsibilities more effectively. For employers it reduces the cost and delays of litigation while providing them with a say in the selection of a decision maker. In Canada and the United States, ADR has long been a tool for settling disputes over collective bargaining and agreements, generally using mediation to resolve interest disputes and arbitration to resolve rights disputes. Following the recent development of a new Due Process Protocol assuring due process for the protection of individuals with statute-based complaints, ADR is also starting to be used in the United States to resolve disputes over the application of discrimination law, health and safety regulations and whistle-blower legislation. It thus can be a relevant tool even in the absence of union representation and collective agreements. As a procedure for protecting individual rights against a more powerful * Arbitrator, and former President, National Academy of Arbitrators (USA). Copyright © International Labour Organization 1997