Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Gardner-Denver: A Union Grievance Arbitration Did Not Bar a Title VII Action

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published May 18, 2026

Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. distinguished contractual rights enforced through a union grievance from an individual employee’s statutory protection against employment discrimination.

The two proceedings protected different rights

Arbitration interpreted the collective-bargaining agreement, while the civil action enforced a statutory command independent of the labor contract.

The union controlled the contractual grievance

The collective process served the bargaining unit’s interests and did not give the union power to waive the employee’s individual Title VII cause of action.

The arbitration result could still be evidence

A court could consider the prior proceeding and give it appropriate weight based on the record, procedures, and competence of the arbitrator to decide the issue.

Current arbitration analysis requires later authority

Gardner-Denver addressed labor-contract arbitration; later decisions concerning individually agreed arbitration provisions must be analyzed separately.

Key takeaways

• Identify whether the arbitration arose from a union contract or an individual agreement.
• Separate contractual theories from statutory discrimination claims.
• Preserve the grievance record, award, and evidence presented.
• Apply later arbitration precedent to the agreement actually at issue.