Labor & Employment Law

Arbitration providing individual with due process equivalent to that provided by statute held appropriate

Arbitration providing individual with due process equivalent to that provided by statute held appropriate

Guyden v Aetna, Inc., USCA 2^nd Circuit, Docket #06-4954-cv, Decided October 2, 2008

Linda C. Guyden sued Aetna, alleging that she had been terminated in violation of the whistleblower protection provision contained in a statute, in this case the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A federal district court dismissed her petition, ruling that she was required to avail herself of the arbitration agreement set out in her contract of employment with Aetna.

The court rejected Guyde?s theory that her whistleblower claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is nonarbitrable because arbitration is inconsistent with the purpose and structure of the Act as well as her argument that the specific arbitration procedures established by the arbitration agreement places procedural limitations will prevent her from vindicating her statutory rights.

The Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and sustained the lower court?s ruling dismissing Guyde?s petition. The court held that the challenged arbitration process established by the arbitration agreement provided Guyden with an adequate opportunity to enforce her statutory rights.

This ruling is consistent with the holding of New York?s Court of Appeals in Antinore v State [40 NY2d 6]. Where an employee organization has negotiated an alternative to a statutory disciplinary procedure that provides due process protections equivalent to those available under the statute it replaced the individual in the collective bargaining unit may not claim the right to the statutory due process proceeding.

The full text of the decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDA2LTQ5NTQtY3Zfb3BuLnBkZg==/06-4954-cv_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysquery/irla820/2/hilite

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on October 07, 2008 (boomark / email).