IS LITIGATION YOUR FINAL ANSWER? 719
middle and lower income.^259 Since arbitration provides a cost-
effective and procedurally sound method for resolving
employment disputes, Targets with valid and substantiated
workplace-bullying claims should be given the opportunity to
utilize it without resorting to an expensive and lengthy litigation.
C. Arguments Against Arbitration to Resolve Employment
DisputesOpponents of arbitration often raise due process concerns.
First, a party may only challenge an arbitral award for judicial
review when arbitrators “exceed[] their powers” in interpreting
law or fact, or for arbitral misconduct.^260 Both are rarely
successful.^261 On the other hand, courts have found that
“procedural safeguards” exist within state arbitration statutes to
prevent violation of due process.^262 Second, opponents contend
that the arbitration-related costs make the process inaccessible to
employees with fewer resources.^263 For example, the costs of
filing for arbitration and paying for the arbitrator’s hourly rates
may deter them from pursuing their claim.^264 Since most cases
(^259) Hill, supra note 257, at 805–09. In cases that were not deemed
meritless, the win/loss ratio for employees was 0.96. Id. at 808.
(^260) Stephen Wills Murphy, Note, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards
Under State Law, 96 VA. L. REV. 887, 898–903 (2010).
(^261) See id.
(^262) Id. at 903.
(^263) Reginald Alleyne, Arbitrators’ Fees: The Dagger in the Heart of
Mandatory Arbitration for Statutory Discrimination, 6 U. PA. J. LAB. & EMP.
L. 1, 30, 30–32 (2003); Melissa G. Lamm, Comment, Who Pays Arbitration
Fees?: The Unanswered Question in Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 24
CAMPBELL L. REV. 93, 112 (2001)
(^264) Employment arbitrator fees are generally based on hourly rates
ranging from $200 to $400. Parties who use the American Arbitration
Association (“AAA”) to resolve their employment disputes could pay several
different kinds of fees, including a filing a fee of $125, a
postponement/cancellation fee of $120, and administrative fees ranging from
$500 to $13,000, depending on the scope of the claim. See Alleyne, supra
note 263, at 30–31; see also Ryan P. Steen, Comment, Paying for
Employment Dispute Resolution: Dilemmas Confronting Arbitration Cost
Allocation Throw the Arbitration Machine into Low Gear, 7 J. SMALL &
EMERGING BUS. L. 181, 182 (2003).