Arbitration of Employment-Discrimination Lawsuits: Legalities, Practicalities, and Realities

Arbitration agreements can be an effective, cost-effective way to settle employment disputes-but not all courts agree about what constitutes an enforceable contract

Introducing the Hospitality Roundtable on Legal Issues

[Excerpt] I am pleased to present this issue’s section on issues connected to employment law. The section comprises three articles, two of which stem directly from a roundtable held at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

Goodbye, Hello

[Excerpt] If, as Billy Joel once sang, “life is a series of hellos and goodbyes,” then this issue represents nothing more than the next step in a series of expected changes. I do believe, however, that even though hellos and goodbyes are an accepted part of life, they are not always mundane and are often the cause for reflection, sadness, and excitement. That is the case here, as this issue marks the end of Mike Sturman’s term as editor of the Cornell Quarterly and the beginning of Linda Canina’s term

Roundtable Retrospective 2007: Dealing with Sexual Harassment

A review of sexual harassment case law was presented at the 2007 Labor and Employment Roundtable at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. The foremost lesson is that employers should take steps to prevent harassment, but failing that, an employer should maintain and follow a strong policy on sexual harassment and immediately make an effective response to a complaint

Synergies for HR in Hospitality

[Excerpt] I am looking forward to March, not only because winter is nearly over here in the Northern Hemisphere, but because it means that we will attend the Annual National HR in Hospitality Conference and Exposition to be held March 16 to 19 at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. This year’s conference, the second of its kind, represents the culmination of a vision shared by the leaders of Cornell’s Hotel School and its ILR School, as well as two prominent alumni. Before identifying these people and explaining the conference, a little background is necessary. Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration has for eighty-five years enjoyed the reputation as the world’s preeminent hospitality management school. Similarly, Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, now known as the ILR School, has been regarded as the best school of its kind since being founded in 1948. The germ for the idea of a cosponsored conference began in spring 2006 when the ILR School named Harry Katz as dean. Dean Katz built bridges between the two schools when he agreed to become a cosponsor of the Hotel School’s Labor and Employment Law Roundtable and its Human Resource Roundtable. In July 2006, Michael Johnson became dean of the Hotel School. Around that same time, ILR alumnus Bruce Raynor, president of Unite Here (the hospitality industry’s largest union), and Ken Kahn, president of LRP Publications (a Center Partner that, in addition to its publications, develops and runs conferences on variety of topics), agreed to work with both the Hotel School and the ILR School to develop an HR in Hospitality Conference

The Effect of Labor Law Changes under the New Administration: Too Soon to Tell

With a new administration in place, experts in labor law joined union leaders and management to observe the straws in the wind regarding what changes might occur in labor laws and regulations. Changes seem inevitable in the National Labor Relations Board, and existing NLRB rulings may be altered as time goes on. On the other hand, it seems nearly certain that franchisors and firms that contract for employees will continue to considered joint employers. The “fissuring” of the hospitality industry invites such an outcome, even as different firms are responsible for specific aspects of a venture. Union leaders anticipate that they will continue to do their best to organize employees and work with their members, and de-emphasize political activity

Progress Report: The Center at Fifteen

[Excerpt] The Center for Hospitality Research, publisher of this journal, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year. Though we will note this occasion at the Cornell Hotel Society’s annual New York Hotel Show Reception, I wanted to offer a progress report to the readers who cannot be in New York in November. The Center began in 1992 when a young professor, Steve Carvell, now the Hotel School’s associate dean, brought the idea to the faculty. After the initial angst associated with all new ideas, the faculty agreed to endorse the idea and selected Professor Jack Corgel as the Center’s first director. Jack got the Center going by bringing in a number of partners and organizing a conference. After Jack stepped down in 1994, however, the Center struggled. By 2000 the Center had no partners, no conferences, and no research. Professor Cathy Enz took over the Center in fall 2000. With a goal of revitalizing the Center, she hired a small staff, including our director of corporate relations Joe Strodel, created an advisory board, began bringing in partners and data providers, developed the concept of Cornell Hospitality Reports, began funding summer research fellows, and began sponsoring the Center’s roundtables. In addition, under Cathy’s leadership the Center engaged Sage Publications to manage this journal, which we have just renamed the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ). Since Sage became our journal manager, CQ has increased its readership, decreased its acceptance rate (due to a stronger field of article submissions), and is now listed in the Thompson Scientific Journal Citation Index (as explained elsewhere in this issue by editor Linda Canina)

Mandatory Arbitration: Why Alternative Dispute Resolution May Be the Most Equitable Way to Resolve Discrimination Claims

The number of employers that require employees to agree to mandatory arbitration of disputes as a condition of employment has increased in recent years. One particular motivating factor is an increase in the volume of discrimination claims, which has accompanied the expansion of the employee classes protected by state and federal anti-discrimination statutes. The employers\u27 goals in requiring arbitration are to avoid the expense and time involved in litigation, as well as the specter of unreasonable jury awards. More cynically, critics of mandatory arbitration suggest that another reason that employers favor arbitration is the perception that arbitration works to the disadvantage of employees. Part of the difficulty in establishing whether one party or the other benefits more from litigation or arbitration is the inherent differences in the cases that reach one forum or the other. An analysis finds no support for the idea that arbitration necessarily favors employers. Indeed, the cost of litigation makes it unlikely that an employee with a legitimate, though small value claim would even be heard in court. Instead, contingent-fee attorneys would tend to stay away from a small claim, while state and federal agencies, notably the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Corporation, have a bias toward settling claims, regardless of the equity of that settlement. Considering that the best resolution is one that both parties achieve freely on their own, both litigation and arbitration represent a type of systemic failure. Current research has found that arbitration is faster in achieving a resolution than is litigation. There is no way to establish whether payments or damages are higher in litigation than in arbitration, and research has failed to show a bias toward either employees or employers in arbitration. Indeed, establishing bias begs the fundamental question, which is whether a system that favors one side, employees, for instance, is actually more fair than a system in which either side could prevail. Ideally, the system should provide damages for employees who actually have been hurt by discrimination, while at the same time it should provide speedy exoneration for employers who have been unfairly tarred by accusations of discrimination. The present system does neither

The Hotel Industry Seeks the Elusive “Green Bullet”

Tasked with finding ways to operate in the most sustainable fashion possible, hotel industry managers must evaluate a tidal wave of supposedly green products and processes, while they also seek to balance the expectations of customers and the demands of owners. In the backdrop are existing government regulations at all levels, as well as the prospect of additional laws. This is the Gordian knot that participants faced in the first-ever Sustainability Roundtable, produced in October 2009 by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research

Addressing Employee Lawsuits

[Excerpt] For months you tried to save this employee. You gave him numerous second chances, you gave him a performance improvement plan, and you even put him on probation. Finally, after all the warnings, the low productivity, and the time and effort, you have no choice but to let the employee go. You agonized over the decision but knew it was right. Imagine your surprise when you received a letter in the mail today accusing you and your company of disability discrimination! You did not even know the employee was disabled. You are faced with the reality: All managers are, at one time or another, accused of discrimination. The purpose of this chapter is to help you respond to this complaint by: (1) defining the law; (2) explaining how discrimination claims are adjudicated; (3) discussing the Americans with Disabilities Act and sexual harassment; and (4) advising employers in the hospitality industry on how to avoid liability