§ 36-11-9 - Binding arbitration – Procedure.
SECTION 36-11-9
§ 36-11-9 Binding arbitration –Procedure. – (a) All issues remaining in dispute after the procedures for voluntaryresolution of issues provided in § 36-11-8 are exhausted shall be referredto final and binding arbitration and decision. An arbitrator shall be selectedwithin fifteen (15) days from lists of certified arbitrators submitted by andin accordance with the rule of the American Arbitration Association, provided,however, that all names so submitted shall be of Rhode Island residents.
(b) The arbitrator shall call a hearing to be held within ten(10) days of his or her appointment and shall give at least seven (7) dayswritten notice in writing to the bargaining agent and chief executive of thetime and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be informal, and the rules ofevidence prevailing in judicial proceedings shall not be binding; provided,however, that a stenographic record of the proceedings shall be kept andtranscribed. Any and all documentary evidence and other data deemed relevant bythe arbitrator may be received in evidence. The arbitrator shall have the powerto administer oaths and to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony ofwitnesses, the production of books, records, and other evidence relative orpertinent to the issues presented to them for determination.
(c) The hearing conducted by the arbitrator shall beconcluded within twenty (20) days of the time of commencement, and, within ten(10) days after the conclusion of the hearings, the arbitrator shall makewritten findings and a written opinion upon the issues presented, a copy ofwhich shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the bargaining agent or itsattorney or other designated representative and the chief executive. Thedecision of the arbitrator shall be binding upon both the bargaining agent andthe chief executive as to all issues and matters other than an issue whichinvolves wages and as to that issue, the decision shall be advisory in nature.