The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOC NOTICE Number 915.002 Date July 10, 1997 1. SUBJECT: Policy Statement on Mandatory Binding Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Disputes as a Condition of Employment 2. PURPOSE: This policy statement sets out the Commission’s policy on the mandatory binding arbitration of employment discrimination disputes imposed as a condition of employment. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon issuance. 4. EXPIRATION DATE: As an exception to EEOC Order 205.001, Appendix B, Attachment 4, § a(5), this Notice will remain in effect until rescinded or superseded. 5. ORIGINATOR: Coordination and Guidance Programs, Office of Legal Counsel. 6. INSTRUCTIONS: File in Volume II of the EEOC Compliance Manual. 7. SUBJECT MATTER: The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission), the federal agency charged with the interpretation and enforcement of this nation’s employment discrimination laws, has taken the position that agreements that mandate binding arbitration of discrimination claims as a condition of employment are contrary to the fundamental principles evinced in these laws. EEOC Motions on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Motion 4 (adopted Apr. 25, 1995), 80 Daily Lab. Rep. (BNA) E-1 (Apr. 26, 1995).1 This policy statement sets out in further detail the basis for the Commission’s position. I. Background An increasing number of employers are requiring as a condition of employment that applicants and employees give up their right to pursue employment discrimination claims in court and agree to resolve disputes through binding arbitration. These agreements may be presented in the form of an employment contract or be included in an employee handbook or elsewhere. Some employers have even included such agreements in employment applications. The use of these agreements is not limited to particular industries, but can be found in various sectors of the workforce, including, for example, the securities industry, retail, restaurant and hotel chains, health care, broadcasting, and security services. Some individuals subject to mandatory arbitration agreements have challenged the enforceability of these agreements by bringing employment discrimination actions in the courts. The Commission is not unmindful of the case law enforcing specific mandatory arbitration agreements, in particular, the Supreme Court’s decision in Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U.S. 33 (1991).2 Nonetheless, for the reasons stated herein, the Commission believes that such agreements are inconsistent with the civil rights laws. II. The Federal Civil Rights Laws Are Squarely Based In This Nation’s History And Constitutional Framework And Are Of A Singular National Importance Federal civil rights laws, including the laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, play a unique role in American jurisprudence. They flow directly from core Constitutional principles, and this nation's history testifies to their necessity and profound importance. Any analysis of the mandatory arbitration of rights guaranteed by the employment discrimination laws must, at the outset, be squarely based in an understanding of the history and purpose of these laws. Title VII of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., was enacted to ensure equal opportunity in employment, and to secure the fundamental right to equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.3 Congress considered this national policy against discrimination to be of the "highest priority" (Newman v. Piggie Park Enters., 390 U.S. 400, 402 (1968)), and of "paramount importance" (H.R. Rep. No. 88-914, pt. 2 (1963) (separate views of Rep. McCulloch et al.)),4 reprinted in 1964 Leg. Hist. at 2123.5 The Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000a et seq., was intended to conform "[t]he practice of American democracy . . . to the spirit which motivated the Founding Fathers of this Nation -- the ideals of freedom, equality, justice, and opportunity." H.R. Rep. No. 88-914, pt. 2 (1963) (separate views of Rep. McCulloch et al.), reprinted in 1964 Leg. Hist. at 2123. President John F. Kennedy, in addressing the nation regarding his intention to introduce a comprehensive civil rights bill, stated the issue as follows: We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and it is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. President John F. Kennedy's Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights (June 11, 1963), Pub. Papers 468, 469 (1963).6 Title VII is but one of several federal employment discrimination laws enforced by the Commission which are "part of a wider statutory scheme to protect employees in the workplace nationwide," McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publ'g Co., 513 U.S. 352, 357 (1995). See the Equal Pay Act of 1963 ("EPA"), 29 U.S.C. § 206(d); the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq.; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. The ADEA was enacted "as part of an ongoing congressional effort to eradicate discrimination in the workplace" and "reflects a societal condemnation of invidious bias in employment decisions." McKennon, 513 U.S. at 357. The ADA explicitly provides that its purpose is, in part, to invoke congressional power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment. 29 U.S.C. § 12101(b)(4). Upon signing the ADA, President George Bush remarked that "the American people have once again given clear expression to our most basic ideals of freedom and equality." President George Bush's Statement on Signing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (July 26, 1990), Pub. Papers 1070 (1990 Book II). III. The Federal Government Has The Primary Responsibility For The Enforcement Of The Federal Employment Discrimination Laws The federal employment discrimination laws implement national values of the utmost importance through the institution of public and uniform standards of equal opportunity in the workplace. See text and notes supra in Section II. Congress explicitly entrusted the primary responsibility for the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of these standards, and the public values they embody, to the federal government. It did so in three principal ways. First, it created the Commission, initially giving it authority to investigate and conciliate claims of discrimination and to interpret the law, see §§ 706(b) and 713 of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-5(b) and 2000e-12, and subsequently giving it litigation authority in order to bring cases in court that it could not administratively resolve, see § 706(f)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1). Second, Congress granted certain enforcement authority to the Department of Justice, principally with regard to the litigation of cases involving state and local governments. See §§ 706(f)(1) and 707 of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e- 5(f)(1) and 2000e-6. Third, it established a private right of action to enable aggrieved individuals to bring their claims directly in the federal courts, after first administratively bringing their claims to the Commission. See § 706(f)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1).7 While providing the states with an enforcement role, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-5(c) and (d), as well as recognizing the importance of voluntary compliance by employers, see 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b), Congress emphasized that it is the federal government that has ultimate enforcement responsibility. As Senator Humphrey stated, "[t]he basic rights protected by [Title VII] are rights which accrue to citizens of the United States; the Federal Government has the clear obligation to see that these rights are fully protected." 110 Cong. Rec. 12725 (1964). Cf. General Tel. Co. v. EEOC, 446 U.S. 318, 326 (1980) (in bringing enforcement actions under Title VII, the EEOC "is guided by 'the overriding public interest in equal employment opportunity . . . asserted through direct Federal enforcement'") (quoting 118 Cong. Rec. 4941 (1972)). The importance of the federal government's role in the enforcement of the civil rights laws was reaffirmed by Congress in the ADA, which explicitly provides that its purposes include "ensur[ing] that the Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing the standards established in [the ADA] on behalf of individuals with disabilities." 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b)(3). IV. Within This Framework, The Federal Courts Are Charged With The Ultimate Responsibility For Enforcing The Discrimination Laws While the Commission is the primary federal agency responsible for enforcing the employment discrimination laws, the courts have been vested with the final responsibility for statutory enforcement through the construction and interpretation of the statutes, the adjudication of claims, and the issuance of relief.8 See, e.g., Kremer v. Chemical Constr. Corp., 454 U.S. 461, 479 n.20 (1982) ("federal courts were entrusted with ultimate enforcement responsibility" of Title VII); New York Gaslight Club, Inc. v. Carey, 447 U.S. 54, 64 (1980) ("Of course the 'ultimate authority' to secure compliance with Title VII resides in the federal courts").9 A. The Courts Are Responsible For The Development And Interpretation Of The Law As the Supreme Court emphasized in Alexander v. Gardner- Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 57 (1974), "the resolution of statutory or constitutional issues is a primary responsibility of courts, and judicial construction has proved especially necessary with respect to Title VII, whose broad language frequently can be given meaning only by reference to public law concepts." This principle applies equally to the other employment discrimination statutes. While the statutes set out the basic parameters of the law, many of the fundamental legal principles in discrimination jurisprudence have been developed through judicial interpretations and case law precedent. Absent the role of the courts, there might be no discrimination claims today based on, for example, the adverse impact of neutral practices not justified by business necessity, see Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971), or sexual harassment, see Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17 (1993); Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). Yet these two doctrines have proved essential to the effort to free the workplace from unlawful discrimination, and are broadly accepted today as key elements of civil rights law. B. The Public Nature Of The Judicial Process Enables The Public, Higher Courts, And Congress To Ensure That The Discrimination Laws Are Properly Interpreted And Applied Through its public nature -- manifested through published decisions -- the exercise of judicial authority is subject to public scrutiny and to system-wide checks and balances designed to ensure uniform expression of and adherence to statutory principles. When courts fail to interpret or apply the antidiscrimination laws in accord with the public values underlying them, they are subject to correction by higher level courts and by Congress. These safeguards are not merely theoretical, but have enabled both the Supreme Court and Congress to play an active and continuing role in the development of employment discrimination law. Just a few of the more recent Supreme Court decisions overruling lower court errors include: Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 117 S. Ct. 843 (1997) (former employee may bring a claim for retaliation); O'Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers, Corp., 116 S. Ct. 1307 (1996) (comparator in age discrimination case need not be under forty); McKennon, 513 U.S. 352 (employer may not use after-acquired evidence to justify discrimination); and Harris 510 U.S. 17 (no requirement that sexual harassment plaintiffs prove psychological injury to state a claim). Congressional action to correct Supreme Court departures from congressional intent has included, for example, legislative amendments in response to Court rulings that: pregnancy discrimination is not necessarily discrimination based on sex (General Elec. Co. v. Gilbert, 429 U.S. 125 (1978), and Nashville Gas Co. v. Satty, 434 U.S. 136 (1977), overruled by Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978); that an employer does not have the burden of persuasion on the business necessity of an employment practice that has a disparate impact (Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 490 U.S. 642 (1989), overruled by §§ 104 and 105 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991); that an employer avoids liability by showing that it would have taken the same action absent any discriminatory motive (Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989), overruled, in part, by § 107 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991); that mandatory retirement pursuant to a benefit plan in effect prior to enactment of the ADEA is not prohibited age discrimination (United Air Lines, Inc. v. McMann, 434 U.S. 192 (1977), overruled by 1978 ADEA amendments); and, that age discrimination in fringe benefits is not unlawful (Public Employees Retirement Sys. of Ohio v. Betts, 492 U.S. 158 (1989), overruled by Older Workers Benefits Protection Act of 1990). C. The Courts Play A Crucial Role In Preventing And Deterring Discrimination And In Making Discrimination Victims Whole The courts also play a critical role in preventing and deterring violations of the law, as well as providing remedies for discrimination victims. By establishing precedent, the courts give valuable guidance to persons and entities covered by the laws regarding their rights and responsibilities, enhancing voluntary compliance with the laws. By awarding damages, backpay, and injunctive relief as a matter of public record, the courts not only compensate victims of discrimination, but provide notice to the community, in a very tangible way, of the costs of discrimination. Finally, by issuing public decisions and orders, the courts also provide notice of the identity of violators of the law and their conduct. As has been illustrated time and again, the risks of negative publicity and blemished business reputation can be powerful influences on behavior. D. The Private Right Of Action With Its Guarantee Of Individual Access To The Courts Is Essential To The Statutory Enforcement Scheme The private right of access to the judicial forum to adjudicate claims is an essential part of the statutory enforcement scheme. See, e.g., McKennon, 513 U.S. at 358 (granting a right of action to an injured employee is "a vital element" of Title VII, the ADEA, and the EPA). The courts cannot fulfill their enforcement role if individuals do not have access to the judicial forum. The Supreme Court has cautioned that, "courts should ever be mindful that Congress . . . thought it necessary to provide a judicial forum for the ultimate resolution of discriminatory employment claims. It is the duty of courts to assure the full availability of this forum." Gardner-Denver, 415 U.S. at 60 n.21.10 Under the enforcement scheme for the federal employment discrimination laws, individual litigants act as "private attorneys general." In bringing a claim in court, the civil rights plaintiff serves not only her or his private interests, but also serves as "the chosen instrument of Congress to vindicate 'a policy that Congress considered of the highest priority.'" Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412, 418 (1978) (quoting Newman v. Piggie Park Enters., Inc., 390 U.S. 400, 402 (1968)). See also McKennon, 513 U.S. at 358 ("[t]he private litigant who seeks redress for his or her injuries vindicates both the deterrence and compensation objectives of the ADEA"). V. Mandatory Arbitration Of Employment Discrimination Disputes "Privatizes" Enforcement Of The Federal Employment Discrimination Laws, Thus Undermining Public Enforcement Of The Laws The imposition of mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment substitutes a private dispute resolution system for the public justice system intended by Congress to govern the enforcement of the employment discrimination laws. The private arbitral system differs in critical ways from the public judicial forum and, when imposed as a condition of employment, it is structurally biased against applicants and employees. A. Mandatory Arbitration Has Limitations That Are Inherent And Therefore Cannot Be Cured By The Improvement Of Arbitration Systems That arbitration is substantially different from litigation in the judicial forum is precisely the reason for its use as a form of ADR. Even the fairest of arbitral mechanisms will differ strikingly from the judicial forum. 1. The Arbitral Process Is Private In Nature And Thus Allows For Little Public Accountability The nature of the arbitral process allows -- by design -- for minimal, if any, public accountability of arbitrators or arbitral decision-making. Unlike her or his counterparts in the judiciary, the arbitrator answers only to the private parties to the dispute, and not to the public at large. As the Supreme Court has explained: A proper conception of the arbitrator's function is basic. He is not a public tribunal imposed upon the parties by superior authority which the parties are obliged to accept. He has no general charter to administer justice for a community which transcends the parties. He is rather part of a system of self-government created by and confined to the parties. . . . United Steelworkers of Am. v. Warrior and Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 581 (1960) (quoting from Shulman, Reason, Contract, and Law in Labor Relations, 68 Harv. L. Rev. 999, 1016 (1955)). The public plays no role in an arbitrator's selection; s/he is hired by the private parties to a dispute. Similarly, the arbitrator's authority is defined and conferred, not by public law, but by private agreement.11 While the courts are charged with giving force to the public values reflected in the antidiscrimination laws, the arbitrator proceeds from a far narrower perspective: resolution of the immediate dispute. As noted by one commentator, "[a]djudication is more likely to do justice than . . . arbitration . . . precisely because it vests the power of the state in officials who act as trustees for the public, who are highly visible, and who are committed to reason." Owen Fiss, Out of Eden, 94 Yale L.J. 1669, 1673 (1985). Moreover, because decisions are private, there is little, if any, public accountability even for employers who have been determined to have violated the law. The lack of public disclosure not only weakens deterrence (see discussion supra at 8), but also prevents assessment of whether practices of individual employers or particular industries are in need of reform. "The disclosure through litigation of incidents or practices which violate national policies respecting nondiscrimination in the work force is itself important, for the occurrence of violations may disclose patterns of noncompliance resulting from a misappreciation of [Title VII's] operation or entrenched resistance to its commands, either of which can be of industry-wide significance." McKennon, 513 U.S. at 358-59. 2. Arbitration, By Its Nature, Does Not Allow For The Development Of The Law Arbitral decisions may not be required to be written or reasoned, and are not made public without the consent of the parties. Judicial review of arbitral decisions is limited to the narrowest of grounds.12 As a result, arbitration affords no opportunity to build a jurisprudence through precedent.13 Moreover, there is virtually no opportunity for meaningful scrutiny of arbitral decision-making. This leaves higher courts and Congress unable to act to correct errors in statutory interpretation. The risks for the vigorous enforcement of the civil rights laws are profound. See discussion supra at section IV. B. 3. Additional Aspects Of Arbitration Systems Limit Claimants’ Rights In Important Respects Arbitration systems, regardless of how fair they may be, limit the rights of injured individuals in other important ways. To begin with, the civil rights litigant often has available the choice to have her or his case heard by a jury of peers, while in the arbitral forum juries are, by definition, unavailable. Discovery is significantly limited compared with that available in court and permitted under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In addition, arbitration systems are not suitable for resolving class or pattern or practice claims of discrimination. They may, in fact, protect systemic discriminators by forcing claims to be adjudicated one at a time, in isolation, without reference to a broader -- and more accurate -- view of an employer's conduct. B. Mandatory Arbitration Systems Include Structural Biases Against Discrimination Plaintiffs In addition to the substantial and inevitable differences between the arbitral and judicial forums that have already been discussed, when arbitration of employment disputes is imposed as a condition of employment, bias inheres against the employee.14 First, the employer accrues a valuable structural advantage because it is a "repeat player." The employer is a party to arbitration in all disputes with its employees. In contrast, the employee is a "one-shot player"; s/he is a party to arbitration only in her or his own dispute with the employer. As a result, the employee is generally less able to make an informed selection of arbitrators than the employer, who can better keep track of an arbitrator's record. In addition, results cannot but be influenced by the fact that the employer, and not the employee, is a potential source of future business for the arbitrator.15 A recent study of nonunion employment law cases16 found that the more frequent a user of arbitration an employer is, the better the employer fares in arbitration.17 In addition, unlike voluntary post-dispute arbitration -- which must be fair enough to be attractive to the employee -- the employer imposing mandatory arbitration is free to manipulate the arbitral mechanism to its benefit. The terms of the private agreement defining the arbitrator’s authority and the arbitral process are characteristically set by the more powerful party, the very party that the public law seeks to regulate. We are aware of no examples of employees who insist on the mandatory arbitration of future statutory employment disputes as a condition of accepting a job offer -- the very suggestion seems far-fetched. Rather, these agreements are imposed by employers because they believe them to be in their interest, and they are made possible by the employer's superior bargaining power. It is thus not surprising that many employer-mandated arbitration systems fall far short of basic concepts of fairness. Indeed, the Commission has challenged -- by litigation, amicus curiae participation, or Commissioner charge -- particular mandatory arbitration agreements that include provisions flagrantly eviscerating core rights and remedies that are available under the civil rights laws.18 The Commission's conclusions in this regard are consistent with those of other analyses of mandatory arbitration. The Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations (the "Dunlop Commission") was appointed by the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Commerce to, in part, address alternative means to resolve workplace disputes. In its Report and Recommendations (Dec. 1994) ("Dunlop Report"), the Dunlop Commission found that recent employer experimentation with arbitration has produced a range of programs that include "mechanisms that appear to be of dubious merit for enforcing the public values embedded in our laws." Dunlop Report at 27. In addition, a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office, surveying private employers' use of ADR mechanisms, found that existing employer arbitration systems vary greatly and that "most" do not conform to standards recommended by the Dunlop Commission to ensure fairness. See "Employment Discrimination: Most Private-Sector Employers Use Alternative Dispute Resolution" at 15, HEHS-95-150 (July 1995). The Dunlop Commission strongly recommended that binding arbitration agreements not be enforceable as a condition of employment: The public rights embodied in state and federal employment law -- such as freedom from discrimination in the workplace . . . -- are an important part of the social and economic protections of the nation. Employees required to accept binding arbitration of such disputes would face what for many would be an inappropriate choice: give up your right to go to court, or give up your job. Dunlop Report at 32. The Brock Commission (see supra n.13) agreed with the Dunlop Commission’s opposition to mandatory arbitration of employment disputes and recommended that all employee agreements to arbitrate be voluntary and post-dispute. Brock Report at 81-82. In addition, the National Academy of Arbitrators recently issued a statement opposing mandatory arbitration as a condition of employment "when it requires waiver of direct access to either a judicial or administrative forum for the pursuit of statutory rights." See National Academy of Arbitrators’ Statement and Guidelines (adopted May 21, 1997), 103 Daily Lab. Rep. (BNA) E-1 (May 29, 1997). C. Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Will Adversely Affect The Commission’s Ability To Enforce The Civil Rights Laws The trend to impose mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment also poses a significant threat to the EEOC's statutory responsibility to enforce the federal employment discrimination laws. Effective enforcement by the Commission depends in large part on the initiative of individuals to report instances of discrimination to the Commission. Although employers may not lawfully deprive individuals of their statutory right to file employment discrimination charges with the EEOC or otherwise interfere with individuals' protected participation in investigations or proceedings under these laws,19 employees who are bound by mandatory arbitration agreements may be unaware that they nonetheless may file an EEOC charge. Moreover, individuals are likely to be discouraged from coming to the Commission when they know they will be unable to litigate their claims in court.20 These chilling effects on charge filing undermine the Commission's enforcement efforts by decreasing channels of information, limiting the agency's awareness of potential violations of law, and impeding its ability to investigate possible unlawful actions and attempt informal resolution. VI. Voluntary, Post-Dispute Agreements To Arbitrate Appropriately Balance The Legitimate Goals Of Alternate Dispute Resolution And The Need To Preserve The Enforcement Framework Of The Civil Rights Laws The Commission is on record in strong support of voluntary alternative dispute resolution programs that resolve employment discrimination disputes in a fair and credible manner, and are entered into after a dispute has arisen. We reaffirm that support here. This position is based on the recognition that while even the best arbitral systems do not afford the benefits of the judicial system, well-designed ADR programs, including binding arbitration, can offer in particular cases other valuable benefits to civil rights claimants, such as relative savings in time and expense.21 Moreover, we recognize that the judicial system is not, itself, without drawbacks. Accordingly, an individual may decide in a particular case to forego the judicial forum and resolve the case through arbitration. This is consistent with civil rights enforcement as long as the individual's decision is freely made after a dispute has arisen.22 VII. Conclusion The use of unilaterally imposed agreements mandating binding arbitration of employment discrimination disputes as a condition of employment harms both the individual civil rights claimant and the public interest in eradicating discrimination. Those whom the law seeks to regulate should not be permitted to exempt themselves from federal enforcement of civil rights laws. Nor should they be permitted to deprive civil rights claimants of the choice to vindicate their statutory rights in the courts -- an avenue of redress determined by Congress to be essential to enforcement. Processing Instructions For The Field And Headquarters 1. Charges should be taken and processed in conformity with priority charge processing procedures regardless of whether the charging party has agreed to arbitrate employment disputes. Field offices are instructed to closely scrutinize each charge involving an arbitration agreement to determine whether the agreement was secured under coercive circumstances (e.g., as a condition of employment). The Commission will process a charge and bring suit, in appropriate cases, notwithstanding the charging party’s agreement to arbitrate. 2. Pursuant to the statement of priorities in the National Enforcement Plan, see § B(1)(h), the Commission will continue to challenge the legality of specific agreements that mandate binding arbitration of employment discrimination disputes as a condition of employment. See, e.g., Briefs of the EEOC as Amicus Curiae in Seus v. John Nuveen & Co., No. 96-CV- 5971 (E.D. Pa.) (Br. filed Jan. 11, 1997); Gibson v. Neighborhood Health Clinics, Inc., No. 96-2652 (7th Cir.) (Br. filed Sept. 23, 1996); Johnson v. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., No. 4-96-107 (D. Minn.) (Br. Filed May 17, 1996); Great Western Mortgage Corp. v. Peacock, No. 96-5273 (3d Cir.) (Br. filed July 24, 1996). /s/ _________________ __________________ Date Gilbert F. Casellas Chairman 1. Although binding arbitration does not, in and of itself, undermine the purposes of the laws enforced by the EEOC, the Commission believes that this is the result when it is imposed as a term or condition of employment. 2. The Gilmer decision is not dispositive of whether employment agreements that mandate binding arbitration of discrimination claims are enforceable. As explicitly noted by the Court, the arbitration agreement at issue in Gilmer was not contained in an employment contract. 500 U.S. at 25 n.2. Even if Gilmer had involved an agreement with an employer, the issue would remain open given the active role of the legislative branch in shaping the development of employment discrimination law. See discussion infra at section IV. B. 3. See, e.g., H.R. Rep. No. 88-914, pt. 1 (1963), reprinted in United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Legislative History of Title VII and XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("1964 Leg. Hist.") at 2016 (the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was "designed primarily to protect and provide more effective means to enforce. . . civil rights"); H.R. Rep. No.88- 914, pt.2 (1963) (separate views of Rep. McCulloch et al.), reprinted in 1964 Leg. Hist. at 2122 ("[a] key purpose of the bill . . . is to secure to all Americans the equal protection of the laws of the United States and of the several States"); Charles & Barbara Whalen, The Longest Debate: A legislative history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act 104 (1985) (opening statement of Rep. Celler on House debate of H.R. 7152: "The legislation before you seeks only to honor the constitutional guarantees of equality under the law for all. . . . [W]hat it does is to place into balance the scales of justice so that the living force of our Constitution shall apply to all people . . . ."); H.R. Rep. No. 92-238 (1971), reprinted in Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Subcommittee on Labor, Legislative History of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 ("1972 Leg. Hist.") at 63 (1972 amendments to Title VII are a "reaffirmation of our national policy of equal opportunity in employment"). 4. William McCulloch (R-Ohio) was the ranking Republican of Subcommittee No. 5 of the House Judiciary Committee, to which the civil rights bill (H.R. 7152) was referred for initial consideration by Congress. McCulloch was among the individuals responsible for working out a compromise bill that was ultimately substituted by the full Judiciary Committee for the bill reported out by Subcommittee No. 5. His views, which were joined by six members of Congress, are thus particularly noteworthy. 5. See also Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 416 (1975) (The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a "complex legislative design directed at an historic evil of national proportions"). 6. Commitment to our national policy to eradicate discrimination continues today to be of the utmost importance. As President Clinton stated in his second inaugural address: Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century . . . . The challenge of our past remains the challenge of our future: Will we be one Nation, one people, with one common destiny, or not? Will we all come together, or come apart? The divide of race has been America's constant curse. And each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices . . . . These forces have nearly destroyed our Nation in the past. They plague us still. President William J. Clinton's Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 1997), 33 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 61 (Jan. 27, 1997). 7. Section 107 of the ADA specifically incorporates the powers, remedies, and procedures set forth in Title VII with respect to the Commission, the Attorney General, and aggrieved individuals. See 42 U.S.C.§ 12117. Similar enforcement provisions are contained in the ADEA. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 626 and 628. 8. In addition, unlike arbitrators, courts have coercive authority, such as the contempt power, which they can use to secure compliance. 9. See also H.R. Rep. No. 88-914, pt.2 (1963) (separate views of Rep. McCulloch et al.), reprinted in 1964 Leg. Hist. at 2150 (explaining that EEOC was not given cease-and-desist powers in the final House version of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, H.R. 7152, because it was "preferred that the ultimate determination of discrimination rest with the Federal judiciary"). 10. See also 118 Cong. Rec. S7168 (March 6, 1972) (section-by-section analysis of H.R. 1746, the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972, as agreed to by the conference committees of each House; analysis of § 706(f)(1) provides that, while it is hoped that most cases will be handled through the EEOC with recourse to a private lawsuit as the exception, "as the individual's rights to redress are paramount under the provisions of Title VII it is necessary that all avenues be left open for quick and effective relief"). 11. Article III of the Constitution provides federal judges with life tenure and salary protection to safeguard the independence of the judiciary. No such safeguards apply to the arbitrator. The importance of these safeguards was stressed in the debates on the 1972 amendments to Title VII. Senator Dominick, in offering an amendment giving the EEOC the right to file a civil action in lieu of cease-and-desist powers, explained that the purpose of the amendment was to "vest adjudicatory power where it belongs -- in impartial judges shielded from political winds by life tenure." 1972 Leg. Hist. at 549. The amendment was later revised in minor respects and adopted by the Senate. 12. Under the Federal Arbitration Act, arbitral awards may be vacated only for procedural impropriety such as corruption, fraud, or misconduct. 9 U.S.C. § 10. Judicially created standards of review allow an arbitral award to be vacated where it clearly violates a public policy that is explicit, well-defined, "dominant" and ascertainable from the law, see United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 43 (1987), or where it is in "manifest disregard" of the law, see Wilko v. Swan, 346 U.S. 427, 436-37 (1953). The latter standard of review has been described by one commentator as "a virtually insurmountable" hurdle. See Bret F. Randall, The History, Application, and Policy of the Judicially Created Standards of Review for Arbitration Awards, 1992 BYU L. Rev. 759, 767. But cf. Cole v. Burns Int=l Sec. Servs., 105 F.3d 1465, 1486-87 (1997) (in the context of mandatory employment arbitration of statutory disputes, the court interprets judicial review under the "manifest disregard" standard to be sufficiently broad to ensure that the law has been properly interpreted and applied). 13. Congress has recognized the inappropriateness of ADR where "a definitive or authoritative resolution of the matter is required for precedential value, and such a proceeding is not likely to be accepted generally as an authoritative precedent," see Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 5 U.S.C. § 572(b)(1) (providing for use of ADR by federal administrative agencies where the parties agree); or where "the case involves complex or novel legal issues," see Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 652(c)(2) (providing for court- annexed arbitration; §§ 652(b)(1) and (2) also require the parties' consent to arbitrate constitutional or statutory civil rights claims). Similar findings were made by the U.S. Secretary of Labor's Task Force on Excellence in State and Local Government Through Labor- Management Cooperation ("Brock Commission"), which was charged with examining labor-management cooperation in state and local government. The Task Force's report, "Working Together for Public Service" (1996) ("Brock Report"), recommended "Quality Standards and Key Principles for Effective Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems for Rights Guaranteed by Public Law and for Other Workplace Disputes" which include that "ADR should normally not be used in cases that represent tests of significant legal principles or class action." Brock Report at 82. 14. A survey of employment discrimination arbitration awards in the securities industry, which requires as a condition of employment that all brokers resolve employment disputes through arbitration, found that "employers stand a greater chance of success in arbitration than in court before a jury" and are subjected to "smaller" damage awards. See Stuart H. Bompey & Andrea H. Stempel, Four Years Later: A Look at Compulsory Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims After Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 21 Empl. Rel. L.J. 21, 43 (autumn 1995). 15. See, e.g., Julius G. Getman, Labor Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, 88 Yale L.J. 916, 936 (1979) ("an arbitrator could improve his chances of future selection by deciding favorably to institutional defendants: as a group, they are more likely to have knowledge about past decisions and more likely to be regularly involved in the selection process"); Reginald Alleyne, Statutory Discrimination Claims: Rights 'Waived' and Lost in the Arbitration Forum, 13 Hofstra Lab. L.J. 381, 428 (Spring 1996) ("statutory discrimination grievances relegated to . . . arbitration forums are virtually assured employer-favored outcomes," given "the manner of selecting, controlling, and compensating arbitrators, the privacy of the process and how it catalytically arouses an arbitrator's desire to be acceptable to one side"). 16. Arbitration of labor disputes pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement is less likely to favor the employer as a repeat-player because the union, as collective bargaining representative, is also a repeat-player. 17. See Lisa Bingham, "Employment Arbitration: The effect of repeat-player status, employee category and gender on arbitration outcomes," (unpublished study on file with the author, an assistant professor at Indiana U. School of Public & Environmental Affairs). 18. Challenged agreements have included provisions that: (1) impose filing deadlines far shorter than those provided by statute; (2) limit remedies to "out-of-pocket" damages; (3) deny any award of attorney's fees to the civil rights claimant, should s/he prevail; (4) wholly deny or limit punitive and liquidated damages; (5) limit back pay to a time period much shorter than that provided by statute; (6) wholly deny or limit front pay to a time period far shorter than that ordered by courts; (7) deny any and all discovery; and (8) allow for payment by each party of one-half of the costs of arbitration and, should the employer prevail, require the claimant, in the arbitrator's discretion, to pay the employer's share of arbitration costs as well. 19. See "Enforcement Guidance on non-waivable employee rights under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) statutes," Vol. III EEOC Compl. Man. (BNA) at N:2329 (Apr. 10, 1997). 20. The Commission remains able to bring suit despite the existence of a mandatory arbitration agreement because it acts "to vindicate the public interest in preventing employment discrimination," General Tel., 446 U.S. at 326. Cf. S.Rep. No. 101-263 (1990), reprinted in, Legislative History of The Older Workers Benefits Protection Act, at 354 (amendment to ADEA § 626(f)(4), which provides that "no waiver agreement may affect the Commission's rights and responsibilities to enforce [the ADEA]," was intended "as a clear statement of support for the principle that the elimination of age discrimination in the workplace is a matter of public as well as private interest"). As a practical matter, however, the Commission's ability to litigate is limited by its available resources. 21. Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, the financial costs of arbitration can be significant and may represent no savings over litigation in a judicial forum. These costs may include the arbitrator's fee and expenses; fees charged by the entity providing arbitration services, which may include filing fees and daily administrative fees; space rental fees; and court reporter fees. 22. The Dunlop Commission similarly supported voluntary forms of ADR, but based its opposition to mandatory arbitration on the premise that the avenue of redress for statutory employment rights should be chosen by the individual rather than dictated by the employer. Dunlop Report at 33.