The employment practices in Timothy Reverson’s case can be characterized as; i) Rudimentary- Employees in this company seem disrespectful and don't seem to obey protocol or procedure as Timothy's case showed. This could be as a result of organizational culture and how to organization has been past. ii) Slow in growth- It seems that the company has grown very slowly over the years. Timothy has been a part of the company for 15years and yet only 17employees are members as of now. It shows their employment practices are stagnant; recruitment is slow or there simply isn't room for new employees. iii) Comfortable- Cameron Lake Boat Rentals could have had the opportunity to grow over the years but has refused entirely. The employment practices seem lazy so rather than growing and expanding, the management does everything in their power to maintain a small workforce.
It was not legal or ethical for the company to terminate Timothy over his pay raise argument. Timothy did not acknowledge to having signed the notice for the agreement that employment was conditioned upon resolution by arbitration. Therefore, termination on those grounds is invalid.
For Timothy to consider advancing his case, the following he may consider the following elements of law; i) Length of employment- If Timothy was terminated before the contractual period was over, then those grounds are important in his continuing with the case. ii) If Timothy signed the contract under duress; when he was desperate for the position, and the recruitment officers knew about it, then that fact could be a weapon in his arsenal.
The company, on the other hand, may use the following elements to defend its position, inclusive of the forced arbitration; i) Termination at will- If Timothy's contract stated he'd be terminated at will, then the company had a go ahead to file for dismissal of his suit despite the pay rise argument. ii) If the company has evidence that Timothy signed the agreement in his contract, then it is an important law element in defending their position. Many employees get over excited about getting a certain position that they don't read the terms and agreements governing their contracts. The article 'Stuck in Arbitration', Kessler (2008) observed
that the requirement of arbitration is set forth in the legalese and fine prints of agreements consumers enter into when they make purchases. Consumers do not realize they have signed away their right to due even if cases where they buy faulty products (Kessler, 2008).
Cameron Lake Boat Rental was wrong in their action to terminate Timothy over his pay raise argument. The only reason employees can be terminated is if the employment was at will, or their purpose at the company was fulfilled or if leaving the position is agreed upon by both the employee and the employer. Termination over a pay rise argument is in violation of the Model Employment Termination Act. This act provides that employers can discharge employees only for cause. This does not apply here because Timothy was discharged without cause. Cameron Lake Boat Rentals may also be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act especially if Timothy was terminated because he was African- American. Title VII protects minorities from discrimination of any kind. One way in which Cameron Lake Boat Rentals can avoid such a situation in the future is through ensuring that signing and acknowledgment of signing of the agreement that employment disputes are to be solved through arbitration, in accordance to uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U–4) not sign the agreement is ineligible for employment. Despite the fact that employees today see signing this form as bordering duress, it is a necessary evil to avoid such situations in future.
Also, if it was a known fact that after a certain number of years an employee was promoted and his contract said so, then Timothy has a reasonable reason go argue with his senior over a pay rise. Moreover, if Timothy was a progressively better employee in terms of performance and his relationship with others and he had had a pay rise in all his years at Cameron Lake Boats, then his argument was legitimate and his grounds for dismissal, in this case, void.
Another way is through the human resource department being through in their application and recruitment process unlike the case of Timothy, which could have been avoid simply by rechecking his application documents.
Also, Cameron Lake Boat Rentals could outline clearly what aspects of issues are subject to arbitration, like the attempt made at AT&T Technologies vs. Communication Workers verdict. Certain rules were established; first, an issue can be arbitrated when both parties have agreed. Second, if it is unclear whether the parties have agreed to arbitrate a particular issue, the court, not the arbitrator, must resolve it. Third, there is a rebuttable presumption to arbitrate. And fourth, the court must refrain from passing judgment on the merits.
Broader implications of this situation for the company; Some of the consequences to the company include paying of damages to Timothy due to wages lost or emotional stress, if Timothy won his case. According to Dertouzos et al 1988) this is in turn would be reflected in the company's insurance company payout. In cases where Cameron Lake Boat Rentals were not insured to indemnify, some of the insurance payout would come of their pocket, thus a huge dent in their pockets if this case went on for long and Timothy won.
The company would have a high fee to pay its lawyers in litigation fees, compared to mediation or judicial conferences, if Timothy won the law suit (Dertouzos, Holland & Ebener, 1988).
Despite forced arbitration and the dismissal of this case being the only way used to resolve this situation, another method could have been through mediation or judicial conferences.
Mediation is a voluntary method that can be used to resolve disputes by having the parties reach a solution that they find agreeable. A judicial conference is where the judge assigned to the case meets with the attorneys and their clients, prior to trial. The possibility of reaching a settlement is one of the most important issues explored. If a settlement is reached, a document issued by the court setting forth the agreed-upon terms when a settlement is reached.
References
Dertouzos, J., Holland, E. & Ebener, P. (1988). The legal and economic consequences of wrongful termination. Institute of Civil Justice. The RAND Corporation.
Kessler, A. (2008). Stuck in Arbitration. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.
