Hi,
An 87-year-old nun was raped in her nursing home, but her family was
barred from suing the nursing home for negligence.^1
A woman was charged a 1,000 percent interest rate (yes, you read that
right) from a payday lender who illegally auto-renewed her loan--but she
also was blocked from suing.^2
Wells Fargo opened over 3 million fake accounts in customers’ names, but
these customers were also blocked from court.^3
All because of a corporate loophole called forced arbitration that lets
sexual predators, discriminatory employers, and predatory lenders of
student loans^4 off the hook.
Congress could end this practice right now by passing the Forced
Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act^5, but they won’t do it without
pressure from Demand Progress members like you, .
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to end forced arbitration in employment, consumer, and
civil rights cases by passing the FAIR Act.
Private arbitration is a rigged system. In arbitration, there is no judge,
jury or right to an appeal.^6
Arbitrators do not have to follow the law or care about facts and have an
incentive to favor the company that can give them repeat business.^7
Forced arbitration allows corporations to keep wrongdoing secret and avoid
accountability for harming thousands or even millions of people.^8
Forced arbitration can cost thousands of dollars. In the end, the loser
(usually the individual, not the corporation) often pays the company’s
legal fees.^9
Forced arbitration strips our most basic rights. The laws that protect us
from discrimination based on age, sex, religion, race, disability, and
unequal pay for equal work, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay
Act, become meaningless in arbitration.
Employees who have been harmed by sexual harassment or assault,^10 victims
of predatory for-profit student loans, victims of negligence, defective
products or scams should not be forced into arbitration.
It’s time for Congress to restore our basic rights, but they won’t act
without pressure from the grassroots.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to restore our basic rights by ending forced arbitration
and passing the FAIR Act.
Thanks for taking action for our consumer and civil rights,
Salma and the team at Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. Time, “An 87-Year-Old Nun Said She Was Raped in Her Nursing Home.
Here’s Why She Couldn't Sue,” [ [link removed] ]November 16, 2017.
2. Slate, “Forced Arbitration Is Unjust and Deeply Unpopular. Can
Congress End It?” [ [link removed] ]March 1, 2019.
3. Economic Policy Institute, “Forced arbitration is bad for consumers,”
[ [link removed] ]October 2, 2017.
4. Public Citizen report, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Courthouse
Doors Shut for Aggrieved Private Student Loan Borrowers,” [ [link removed] ]July
2012.
5. Vox, “Google employees walked out for the right to sue their bosses.
Now they’re taking the fight to Congress,” [ [link removed] ]February 28, 2019.
6. Slate, “Forced Arbitration Is Unjust and Deeply Unpopular. Can
Congress End It?” [ [link removed] ]March 1, 2019.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Fair Arbitration Now Coalition, “What is Forced Arbitration?”
[ [link removed] ]Accessed June 19, 2019.
10. Vox, “Google employees walked out for the right to sue their bosses.
Now they’re taking the fight to Congress,” [ [link removed] ]February 28, 2019.
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