Arbitration Clause May Prevent Private Suit

Wright v. Universal Services Maritime Corp., Docket No. 97-0889

The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari to address the issue of "whether a general arbitration clause in a collective bargaining contract bars an employee covered by the contract from filing his own lawsuit under a federal anti-discrimination statute." The Court will review the Fourth Circuit's holding that such a suit would be barred in light of the Supreme Court's past decision in Alexander v. Gardner-Denver.