The message below is from Congresswoman Terri Sewell about the The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. This legislation deals with sexual assault which may be triggering for some people.

Folks,

On February 7th, I voted to pass the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.

Forced arbitration is written into the employment contracts of an estimated 60 million Americans, often preventing survivors of sexual assault from being able to choose their own legal path to address the harms done to them.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act is an incredibly important piece of legislation that bans clauses in employment contracts that require victims of sexual harassment and assault to pursue their cases in forced arbitration — something that benefits the accused harassers.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act gives individuals a choice between resolving sexual harassment and assault cases in court or in arbitration.

This groundbreaking bill gives survivors a chance to truly pursue justice, and removes the institutional protections harassers have exploited for years.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act passed in both the House and the Senate last week, and is on it’s way to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues in Congress to take action on this critical legislation. This reform was long overdue, but I’m breathing a sigh of relief that survivors of sexual assault will no longer be silenced.

Thank you,

Terri