When faced with a dispute, arbitration is often seen as the preferred method of resolution. But what are the limitations of arbitration proceedings? To answer this question, it is important to understand the process of arbitration and how it works. In short, arbitration is an out-of-court resolution of a disagreement between two commercial parties decided by an impartial third party, the arbitrator. When it comes to making decisions in an arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator must perform a choice-of-law analysis.
This analysis is similar to that used by federal district courts when dealing with diverse groups. The arbitrator will apply the choice of law rules of the forum state. The Office of Arbitration (OA) is responsible for managing all requests for labor arbitration services. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator or if priority selections are not received from both parties within 30 days, OA will directly appoint an arbitrator who is not on the original panel.
If the parties mutually select an arbitrator, but that arbitrator is not available, the parties can select a second name from the same panel or OA will directly appoint another arbitrator who did not appear on the original panel. The Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is responsible for all aspects of FMCS arbitration activities and is the final authority on all issues related to the List and FMCS arbitration procedures. If a party considers that the arbitrator has not followed the requirements of this Part, they must promptly notify OA, which may submit any complaint related to the fees charged by the arbitrator to the attention of the Board of Directors for consideration. Surprisingly, there are no restrictions on the types of decisions that can be made in an arbitration proceeding. The SEC cannot act on behalf of individual investors in any arbitration proceeding and cannot overturn or change an arbitrator's decision. Several courts have held that limitation periods simply do not apply in an arbitration proceeding without any contractual provision that expressly states that the applicable limitation period applies to an arbitration proceeding. When it comes to making decisions in an arbitration proceeding, it is important to understand that there are no restrictions on what types of decisions can be made.
The most logical approach would be for an arbitrator to apply the same analysis used by federal district courts when dealing with diverse groups. The Office of Arbitration is responsible for managing all requests for labor arbitration services and if necessary, can directly appoint an arbitrator who is not on the original panel.
