Internal Dispute Resolution

If an employer has a complaint or grievance procedure, the employee does not usually have to use the internal procedure before taking the case to an enforcement agency or court. However, this is an area of the law where profound changes are occurring.

The Supreme Court has held that an employer may be able to escape liability for harassment engaged in by a supervisor when an employee unreasonably refuses to avail herself of the employer’s complaint procedure. An even more fundamental change has been the rise of alternative dispute resolution procedures intended to take the place of lawsuits.