Court upholds arbitration loss after worker waits too long to object

In February 2020, the worker sued the hospital under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. She alleged she had been sexually harassed and retaliated against by the finance director during her temporary assignment. Because she had an arbitration agreement with Adecco, the dispute moved to the American Arbitration Association (AAA), where a retired judge served as arbitrator. 

The arbitrator dismissed the retaliation claim, then – after a three-day hearing – dismissed her remaining claims in a Final Award on April 19, 2023. 

Two days later, her lawyer moved to vacate the award and remove the arbitrator. The reason: the arbitrator had once served as corporate counsel for Chilton Memorial Hospital, which the same lawyer had sued on behalf of a different client in 2003. According to the decision, the arbitrator mentioned that past role in a casual conversation in December 2022, after the worker had finished testifying. 

The timing proved fatal. When the AAA asked both sides in late March 2023 whether they objected to the arbitrator, her counsel said nothing. The objection came only after the award landed against his client. In her later filing, the worker claimed the non-disclosure “smack[ed] of fraud, dishonesty and retaliation” – a characterization the courts rejected. 

A trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice in November 2024, and the Appellate Division affirmed.