Workers' Rights

Arbitration requires people to go through a private dispute resolution process, is often biased against workers and consumers, and typically slams the courthouse doors on those who are injured or harmed in the workplace. It's a standard condition in most, if not all, non-union employment and consumer contracts, and it's considered “forced” because few consumers or workers are aware that they are agreeing to mandatory arbitration when they sign such contracts. This requires them to resolve many types of alleged violations of state and federal laws through arbitration, including laws passed to protect against harmful and dangerous products, consumer fraud, employment discrimination, and other forms of wrongdoing. In our Feb. 15 webinar, co-hosted with the Workers' Rights Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, experts discussed how workers and historically marginalized communities are adversely impacted by forced arbitration. The Center for Progressive Reform's recent report on the topic served as a springboard for the discussion.

A tidal wave of corporate contract provisions has forced consumers and workers into arbitration. Millions are now subject to such “agreements.” Most are unaware that they have lost the right to file a case in court; even those who are aware likely have no choice but to accept a ban on going to court because so many corporations impose forced arbitration. Congress must end forced arbitration and restore the capacity of individuals and the courts to hold businesses accountable for illegal and irresponsible actions that disproportionally harm historically marginalized communities. Congress must also restore access to class action lawsuits, which is how historically marginalized communities can effectively hold corporations accountable for widespread discrimination and other harms. And Congress must restore the authority of federal judges to enforce laws protecting women and people of color from discrimination and workers from wage theft, to guarantee these laws provide the protections intended.

We at the Center for Progressive Reform applaud the U.S. Senate for clearing critical women’s safety legislation that would enable survivors of sexual assault and harassment to hold their abusers accountable in court. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House with broad bipartisan support earlier this week and now heads to President Biden’s desk. We eagerly await his signature.

The U.S. House of Representatives has taken an important step to repair our system of civil justice and advance equity and justice for all. On March 17, the House passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, which would block companies from forcing Americans to settle disputes in a rigged system of arbitration rather than in an impartial court of law. The act now heads to the U.S. Senate.