Following an en banc rehearing, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reinstated as the judgment of the entire court the original holding of a three-judge panel that employers do not have to bargain with unions over mandatory arbitration agreements.
Soon after the initial decision was rendered in Air Line Pilots Association v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., the court granted ALPA’s motion to vacate the decision pending rehearing by the entire appellate panel. The legal issue, analyzed in the March 20, 2000, issue of the Employment Law Letter, was whether Northwest violated its bargaining obligations under the Railway Labor Act when it bypassed the union and required pilot trainees to agree in advance to arbitrate any discrimination claims that may arise in the course of their employment.
During the rehearing, more than one judge expressed the concern that unions would oppose mandatory arbitration because it would dilute their control, even if employees favored arbitration as a speedier and more efficient method for resolving their claims. In light of the potential conflict between individual and union interests, the court reaffirmed that individual employees should be free to enter pre-dispute arbitration agreements with their employer without subjecting the issue to collective bargaining.
While this ruling strengthens the ability of Washington, D.C., employers to establish and enforce mandatory arbitration programs in the union sector, the law is unsettled in other locations and employers may need to negotiate such programs. Whether dealing with the union or nonunion sector, employers should assure that any mandatory arbitration program can pass muster if challenged as unfair to employees.
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