Where a statute has not been incorporated by reference into the CBA, the arbitrator’s application of the statutory standards can yield inequitable results. The author recommends that arbitrators resort to external law standards only as a last resort, and that they not “import” external law that had not been bargained for. The author further notes 1) the distinction between an arbitrator’s de novo examination of the fact of discrimination vs. a judicial determination based upon intent to discriminate, and 2) good cause based upon whether the employee engaged in misconduct vs. good cause based upon the reasonableness of the employer’s conclusion that the employee had engaged in the misconduct.