There is a huge problem with the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”): it contains major ambiguities. The Act was signed into law by President Biden in 2022, and it has the potential to affect many Americans. It has been estimated that about 60 million workers—over half of the non-unionized private workforce—are subject to mandatory...
Dolph Ziggler and JD McDonagh performed in a ring in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. Their match was broadcast worldwide. Ziggler placed everything on the line in a match where he wagered his entire career with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the Intercontinental Championship. Back and forth the two fought. Ziggler brought an early onslaught against McDonagh. Punches...
Every year, excited eighteen-year-olds step foot on a college campus ready to start a new chapter. Ready to try new things, these students join various organizations eager to make new friends and connections. Daniel Santulli was no different. He was an excited nineteen-year-old freshman at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2021. Santulli decided to join the Phi Gamma...
“What is real? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” As technology continues to advance, its effects will be felt in all aspects of our lives, and the world of Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) will be no different. Dispute...
More than 7.6 million renters face the threat of eviction annually.1 In early February 2023, Ivy Hany was at risk of being part of this statistic again.2 Years ago, when Ivy was 19, she and her siblings were forced out of their home into a homeless shelter.3 Now, at 53, she was terrified of becoming homeless again.4 Ivy owed her landlord $2,184.75; she would be evicted if she did...
Labor unions are having something of a moment. In the past few years, high profile unionization efforts like those at Starbucks and successful strikes like SAGAFTRA have generated headlines. Even as labor activists celebrate these wins, American unions face ongoing obstacles. Union membership continues to decrease, and union participation remains at an all-time low. And now...
Historically, the initial mediation session usually was a joint session where the mediator and the disputants met together to exchange information and discuss the substance of the dispute. Accordingly, the main components of the initial mediation session and the informational and communication benefits they were thought to provide were discussed in the context of the disputants...
Consider a situation where an African American man, Tony, residing in a rural southern jurisdiction, holds an order of protection against his partner, John, who is also an African American man. Furthermore, the presiding judge, an elderly white man, was known for denying orders of protection even when sought by white women, which creates an atmosphere where seeking court...
One of the greatest advantages of commercial mediation is the parties’ ability to construct the process to fit their needs. In mediation, parties are free to make decisions about how the conversation will be structured—whether in person or online, joint session or not, whether negotiations will take place over a few hours or days, and so forth. Here, parties are also uniquely...
Pregnant and working mothers face a multitude of challenges when making decisions that pertain to their health, children, and their livelihoods. Historically, women have encountered numerous barriers regarding their entrance and treatment in the United States labor force as a result of gender discrimination that promotes the idea that women, in their inherent ability to become...
Copyright infringement on social media platforms is an ever increasing threat to society today. As social media platforms have grown, music publishers and movie studios have become more outspoken in criticizing the inadequacies in handing copyright infringement on these platforms. On June 14, 2023 a civil complaint was brought by Concord Music Group Inc. along with many other...
On August 12, 2019, the United States Copyright Office (“the Copyright Office”) sent Stephen Thaler a rejection letter stating it would not issue him federal copyright protection for artwork generated by a computer program he owned. After countless appeals to the Copyright Office and the Federal District Court under various legal theories, one thing was made clear: The U.S...
Many Americans will spend at least some time in a long-term care facility. During their stay, every resident should receive competent care and maintain the highest possible quality of life. Long-term care ombuds programs exist to help achieve these goals. Long-term care ombuds (“LTCOs”) advocate for individuals living in long-term care facilities and for improvements to the long...
Thanks to a new Illinois law, alternative dispute resolution could play an important role in fighting mommy-vlogger clickbait in the coming years. It could allow us all to escape outrageous videos of exploitative parents crying on kitchen floors with titles such as “We’re getting SUED by our OWN CHILD?? *emotional* *with proof*”. On August 11, 2023, the governor of Illinois...
In May of 2023, Tribunals in England and Wales had a backlog of nearly 144,000 cases. In a press release issued on July 25, 2023, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) unveiled a significant policy change to combat this backlog. Under its new directive, individuals or entities wishing to pursue debt recovery claims of £10,000 or less are required to engage in mediation proceedings prior...
Consider two hypothetical scenarios of mediations of a personal injury lawsuit. In one scenario, Kenji, the plaintiff, arrived at the mediation session feeling anxious because his attorney hadn’t told him much about the process and he didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t understand the factual and legal issues, how the mediation would unfold, or how he might participate in the...
Rigorous scholarly debate has shaped the discussion on the application of mandatory laws and public policy in arbitration, which has led to an array of legal solutions to the mandatory law problem. The determination of the applicable law in arbitration is a dilemma due to arbitrators’ contractual source of authority and commitments to the parties, their mandate to issue an...
This Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)—including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds—in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with...
After almost a century, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) continues to guide and change the arbitration landscape. While greater focus has been placed on the FAA’s substantive merits and evolution, the act’s procedural role in outlining the relationship between arbitration and the federal court system plays an equally important role in alternate dispute resolution. Notably...
A non-compete clause is “an agreement or contract not to interfere or compete with a former employer (as by working with a competitor).” The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has proposed a per se ban on non-compete provisions in employment contracts. This would arguably be the FTC’s second substantive rule under the FTC Act. This substantive rule making departs from the...
University students have often voiced concern that their institution did not do enough in addressing sexual assaults on campus. There is a perception among students and potential victims that there is a culture of ignoring and underreacting to sexual violence on campus. As many as one in five female undergraduate students experience sexual violence during college, but few feel...
The energy landscape in the United States (“U.S.”) has undergone significant changes in the last few centuries. Energy consumption has increased dramatically as more energy sources have been developed. As one of the world’s leading energy consumers, the U.S. has a large incentive to develop energy solutions that are both sustainable, dependable, and independent of foreign powers...
The Earth’s temperature has risen on average 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since 1880—a total of 2 degrees. Since 1981, the rate of warming has been over twice as fast at 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. 2022 was the sixth-warmest year on record, and the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 2010. These long-term shifts in temperature exemplify the changes to our...
In 2022, the 117th Congress amended the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in response to widespread public pressure to change the culture of American employment. After years of pervasive sexual harassment across industries, supported by the growth of mandatory, adhesive arbitral agreements in employment contracts, Congress adopted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and...