Pub. 1 2011 Issue 2

16 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com A rbitration is considered “binding” when people agree in a contract to waive their right to the traditional judge and jury system of resolving legal disputes. Arbitration has some similarities to the court system. Each disputing party gets to tell their side of the story to the arbitrator, who is a neutral third party. After hear- ing all sides of the story and reviewing any evidence, the arbitrator decides the matter. Unlike the court system, there is no jury in arbitration, and the arbitrator may be more flexible than a judge when considering evidence or testimony. Even though it is less formal than going to court, binding arbitration is still a last resort for resolving a legal dispute. Every effort should be made to resolve employ- ment disputes on an informal basis, without involving any third party. However, in those cases in which the employer and employee cannot agree to a solution, arbi- tration provides a good method for resolving the dispute. How binding arbitration works The goal of any arbitration is to resolve a dispute fairly and efficiently. An arbitration proceeding is started by one party completing an arbitration claim form and sending it to an arbitration administrator, such as the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). After a claim is filed and an arbitrator selected, the other party files a response to the claim. In some cases, usually when the issues are straight- forward and not complex, the parties can request a docu- ment hearing. The arbitrator will study the information submitted by each party and make their decision. On the other hand, the parties may ask for a live, par- ticipatory hearing. Each side will have an opportunity Binding Arbitration for Employment Disputes Arbitration is a way to resolve a legal dispute. When using arbitration, the parties involved agree to resolve their differences without going through the court system.