WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14, 2021 – Today a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The bill would prohibit the practice of forced arbitration in cases related to sexual harassment and assault. This legal fine print in contracts forces victims of sexual assault and harassment into secret, company controlled, rigged, private arbitration systems and undermines the very laws designed to protect them. The new legislation will go far to protect many workers, medical patients, and travelers to ensure they don’t give up their rights to work a job, live in a nursing home, or rent a vacation home.
AFJ also continues to strongly support the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act. That vital legislation would restore the rights of all workers, consumers, servicemembers, patients, and small businesses to seek justice.
Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement:
“Forced arbitration is a primary example of how the legal system is currently rigged against everyday people to favor the wealthy, the powerful and the well connected. Forcing survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault to seek justice in private settings where the odds are stacked against them is not just an affront to justice; it is an attack on the very idea of equal justice before the law. There should be no mechanism by which people give up their right to find justice in our courts after being harmed. Alliance for Justice has long called for an end to all forms of forced arbitration, and we applaud this bipartisan legislation, which Congress should quickly pass. We also call on the House and Senate to meet the moment by going on to pass the FAIR Act which would end the abominable practice of forced arbitration once and for all.”