Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
227.11 sec. 001 - Employment Arbitration: Law and Practice (Spring 2026)
Instructor: Barry Winograd (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 2
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
M 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM
Location: Law 141
From January 12, 2026
To April 06, 2026
Course End: April 06, 2026
Class Number: 34112
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 20
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 20
As of: 02/19 01:37 AM
This two-unit course will study the law and practice governing mandatory employment arbitration proceedings affecting the statutory rights of millions of workers. Please note that arbitration under collective bargaining agreements between unions and employers is not the focus of this class.
As a principal course objective, employment arbitration will be examined through a series of case and practice readings, in-class simulation exercises, and student writing assignments. Students will be assisted with an Arbitration Practice Guide and a set of Supplemental Readings prepared specially for this class. In the last class session, students will work in teams to present a case to professional arbitrators presiding at a hearing. Students also will hear from practitioners in the field offering insight about arbitration practice.
For nearly 50 years, few subjects in U.S. civil law have been as contested as mandatory arbitration, also described as forced or compulsory arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), enacted in 1925 and originally intended to govern commercial and business disputes, is at the heart of continuing legal conflict. Individuals at work and in a wide variety of other everyday settings are subject to FAA-enforced contract terms. These terms require, as a condition of the relationship, submission of all disputes to arbitration instead of recourse to a judicial proceeding.
No subject has been affected by the arbitration debate more than the employment relationship in the non-union workplace, in part because personal and business stakes are high, and in part because extra-judicial forces - business and advocacy groups - are well-organized and funded. The direction the law has taken has been affected by federal and state laws, arbitration rules promulgated by private organizations, and hundreds of appellate decisions and scholarly articles. In the Supreme Court’s 2021-22 term, it decided four employment arbitration cases under the FAA. Since that term, three more employment arbitration decisions have been issued. A new federal law bans mandatory arbitration of claims alleging sexual assault and harassment. In the public realm, law students successfully organized against mandatory plans for law firm employees, and journalists have drawn attention to arbitration for newscasters, sports figures, and those working in the gig economy.
The instructor has been an arbitrator and mediator of workplace and other civil disputes since 1988. For over 30 years, he has been on the adjunct faculty at Berkeley Law teaching labor law and arbitration. He also taught on the adjunct law school faculty at the University of Michigan and, for the past three years, at the University of Pennsylvania. The instructor has served as president of the National Academy of Arbitrators, was a senior editor of a treatise on employment law and dispute resolution, has written articles for professional journals in the field, and has contributed to amicus filings on arbitration cases in the Supreme Court. Previously, he was an administrative law judge for the California Public Employment Relations Board and an attorney for the United Farm Workers Union.
|
Requirements Satisfaction:
|
Submit teaching evaluations for this course between 06-APR-26 and 11-APR-26
Exam Notes: (None) Series of papers or assignments throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Work Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Litigation and Procedure
Simulation Courses
Social Justice and Public Interest
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may edit your files on this page.
Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Instructor has not yet confirmed their textbook order, please check back later.