Reference no: EM133574450

Case Study: The Case: An employee of the Du Pont Company's plant in East Chicago attacked his supervisor and another employee and destroyed some company equipment, all for no apparent reason. The company fired him. He subsequently was arrested, and he spent thirty days under observation in a hospital psychiatric ward. Two psychiatrists subsequently testified in court that the employee was temporarily insane at the time of the incident, and therefore, he was acquitted of the criminal charges. They also testified that the worker had recovered and was not likely to suffer another mental breakdown. Following his acquittal, the worker challenged his discharge through the grievance/arbitration procedure of the labor contract. The union argued that the worker was not discharged for just cause. The arbitrator granted the grievance and reinstated the worker without back pay. The Company refused to reinstate the employee and filed suit in federal court to overturn the arbitrator's decision.

Question: If you represent the union, what arguments would you make to have the court uphold the arbitrator's award? If you represent the company, what arguments would you make to have the court overturn the arbitrator's decision? Explain.