Problem
Amelia lives in just outside of Wichita, Kansas. She is employed as a Nurse at General Hospital. Amelia believes that General owes her $45,000 in overtime pay. The hospital does not believe she is entitled to the money. The employment contract between Amelia and General stipulates that all disputes will be handled through arbitration.
In July, merrill is appointed as arbitrator for the case. He holds an initial hearing in August, where he makes some preliminary rulings. He also schedules a follow-up conference to "consider whether further discovery or preliminary matter need to be undertaken." General does not respond with any additional information. On September 1, Amelia's lawyer has a phone call with Merrill. On September 8, Merrill states that the case will be open for an additional 30 days for parties to submit addition information. Neither party submits information. On October 8, Merrill decides that General owes Amelia the full $45,000.
General's lawyer is upset with this decision, and shout that "Kansas doesn't even allow this kind of thing to be arbitrated anyway!" Moreover, he believes it was "incredibly unfair for the arbitrator to have that phone call with Amelia's lawyers." Subsequently, General Hospital files a motion to vacate the arbitrator's ruling.
Research Kansas law regarding arbitration, and whether arbitration is favored in this context. Discuss whether the arbitrator's decision should be upheld. Please use IRAC format and properly cite the research.