Our diverse society has many important public policies. When they collide, lawsuits are born and, before long, the United States Supreme Court must step in to restore order and provide guidance.
Arbitral finality is a key employment policy.
Judicial review following an arbitration award that the parties meant to be final and binding is very limited. Courts will overturn arbitration awards only very rarely, especially on public policy grounds. In the unionized context, employers and unions both favor extremely limited judicial review of arbitration awards. Broader judicial review, especially on public policy grounds, only pressures every losing party to run to court. Non-union employers favor arbitral finality as well because arbitration is supposed to be an inexpensive, quick alternative to litigation and not simply a prelude to a lawsuit.