The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Arbitration" ...
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"Downer Cow Controversy"
This investigation began by raising questions about the lack of federal inspection outside a slaughterhouse and the treatment of cows. Particularly it raised questions about health risks involving "downer" cows -- weak, sick or crippled dairy cows processed into beef for the kitchen table. The state's beef and dairy commissions, state agencies funded by fees attached to beef and dairy products, criticized the station's reports. The television station was tried in abstentia by the Washington News Council and found to have been unfair to the beef industry. The station earlier had refused to participate in the arbitration, saying its reports were accurate and that the council itself is partial. On Dec. 23, the first U.S. case of mad cow was announced. The animal was a downer cow processed at the same slaughterhouse that was the subject of the station's initial investigation.
Tags: beef; cattle; mad cow; downer cows; USDA; dairy; E. coli; food safety; meat-packing plants; slaughterhouse
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"Whistle stop: Did Northwest Airlines try to muzzle a whistleblower?"
This story investigates the circumstances in which an airline mechanic was fired after reporting a series of safety violations to the FAA. By detailing the mechanic's plight through arbitration testimony, Department of Labor documents, GAO files and other public records, the story shows how industry lobbying and a relaxation of federal oversight have resulted in the "virtual elimination" of whistleblower protections for airline workers.
Tags: airlines; FAA; deregulation; union; transportation
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Arbitration Policies are Muting Whistle-Blower Claims
According to the article, "In the past two years, dozens of court decisions have required people who claim to be fired whistle-blowers to take their grievances to arbitration. The rulings deprive whistle-blowers of one of the most potent threats they can wield against their former employers--that the allegations of misconduct will be litigated in a public forum."
Tags: whistle-blowers; whistle blowers; arbitration; employees; complaints; grievances; court; misconduct; companies
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Putting the Squeeze on Juries: Can one imperious judge do a better job of deciding cases than 12 angry men - or women? Some think so. Others believe that view had landed the jury system in serious trouble.
According to the article, the American trial by jury system has become outdated, and "tort reform laws, court decisions and binding arbitration have all chipped away at the power of juries." Story also includes a map of the United States which shows how verdicts vary by state.
Tags: juries; jury; law; legal system; tort reform laws; court; trial; judge; lawyers; court decisions; binding arbitration; changes; constitution; justice system; jury system
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Private Justice
Over the past 20 years, corporations have started to impose arbitration on the public as a condition to doing business, a quasi-legal process that allows private individuals to pass final judgement on the disputes of the parties who hire them. Several cases are presented with emphasis on the difference between court and arbitration , conflicts of interests, ethical aspects proposed reforms of the system.
Tags: Arbitration; Supreme Court; justice; litigation; rights; court; corporation; contract; AT&T; General Electric; ethical codes.
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Sue Your Broker
Money examines the reasons behind the trend of increasing number of lawsuits against brokers and financial advisers. The story relates the trend to statistics showing that since March 2000 investors have lost $4 trillion in paper wealth. "In one corner are brokers who gave clients poor advice and made money at their expense; in another are investors who came down with their own get-rich madness," the magazine reports. The report profiles both naive investors and greedy brokers. It concludes that this is not "a black-and-white situation of victims and victimizers," but a tale of broken communication between investors and advisers.
Tags: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association; National Association of Security Dealers; commissions; Wall Street; SEC; class-action suits; Internet; dot-coms; PaineWebber
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How public is losing legal rights
San Francisco Chronicle investigates the loss of civil rights, resulting from mandatory arbitration imposed on employees. Many workers sign their employment contracts without reading the text in fine print, which binds them to accept the arbitration clause, the story reveals. Under the court rulings, arbitrators can be "wholly unqualified" to decide civil right cases, and "are rarely required to follow the law." Other flaws of the system include prohibitive filing fees, limited size of awards, and reluctance by most arbitration firms to enforce ethics codes.
Tags: Federal Arbitration Act; conflicts of interest; judges; courts; business; fairness standards; labor; Supreme Court; civil rights; discrimination; wrongful firing
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Getting Burned
Article describes the fight between plaintiffs lawyers, the State of Florida, and the tobacco industry regarding attorneys' fees for the lawsuit against the industry. The lawyers originally had a contingency fee contract with the state for a quarter of the settlement. Florida broke the contract in favor of an arbitration agreement between two of the lawyers and the industry.
Tags: None
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No title (id: 13360)
The process of arbitration is examined and presented as a less expensive alternative to trial in this compilation of essays. All view points of this issue are addressed including advocacy of arbitration, Supreme Court cases that affect arbitration, problems with the practice, common uses, and the process. (April 1996)
Tags: Carbonneau; Park Arbitration vs. rule of law? Court Lawyer Mediator 30 pgs.
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No title (id: 4477)
Charleston Gazette questions the impartiality of a Rand Corp. report recommending that a federal no-fault workers' compensation system, rather than the courts, should arbitrate claims from asbestos victims, because Rand board members and trustees have been directors of the nation's largest asbestos manufacturer; also, the report was largely funded by insurance companies and corporations that would benefit from "tort reform," Jan. 19 and March 9, 1986.
Tags: None