In the News

From Politico: 10/15/2019.

"But the “forced arbitration” policy that Uber wants to insert into its user agreements with riders is proving an obstacle. The increasingly commonplace corporate practice prevents users from seeking relief in court when something goes wrong. Consumer advocates deplore it, and so, increasingly, do some politicians."

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From Vox: 10/11/2019.

"Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that outlaws forced arbitration, a common business practice that US employers use to stop workers from suing them for sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft. He also signed a bill that extends the amount of time employees have to file workplace civil rights complaints under state law."

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From Bloomberg Law: 10/10/2019.

"Demonstrators from Harvard, Columbia, NYU and Georgetown law schools handed out leaflets in New York, Washington, and Boston. They’re part of a student-led initiative leveraging their status as top Big Law recruits to fight what they says is “harassment and discrimination in the legal profession."

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From RetroReport.org: 10/07/2019.

"Corporate scandals led companies to implement mandatory arbitration agreements. But that made it easier for them to cover up the problem, and harder for victims to be heard. The repercussions continue to affect the workplace today."

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From ThinkAdvisor: 9/20/2019.

"Mandatory arbitration "allows large corporations to systematically evade accountability when they break the law," added American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen, in a separate statement. “When this bill passes both houses of Congress, corporations will no longer be allowed to immunize themselves and silence employees, consumers, nursing home residents, sexual assault survivors and victims of financial fraud."

From HuffPost: 9/20/2019.

"The U.S. House on Friday voted to ban forced arbitration, the increasingly controversial ― and common ― practice of forcing consumers and workers into secret courtrooms where they have no access to a jury and far more limited rights than in the public justice system."

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From HuffPost: 9/10/2019.

"The new report from the American Association for Justice shows that not only do companies typically emerge victorious from arbitration, but, perhaps more damning, they rarely even have to use the process."

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From CNBC: 9/10/2019.

"The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Tuesday afternoon passed a bipartisan bill, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act, that would end forced arbitration. Experts say they expect the legislation to pass in the full House as well."

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From Bloomberg: 5/12/2019.

"Earlier this year, Democratic lawmakers introduced the FAIR Act. This would prohibit mandatory arbitration as a condition of employment and let employees choose how they want to resolve a dispute. Industry groups are opposed, but Republican resistance to the idea seems to be weakening, in part because of the outcry over sexual harassment. It’s about time: Congress has an especially poor record as an employer in this regard, and needs to heed public opinion on the matter, both as a law-making body and a place of work."

From the Los Angeles Times: 5/3/2019.

"JPMorgan Chase is notifying more than 40 million credit card holders that from now on they’ll have to arbitrate any disputes, forgoing the option of filing a lawsuit or joining class-action suits."

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