did you sign away your legal rights?

 

Whether we know it or not, most of us have signed away the right to have our day in court if our legal rights are violated at work or if we are ripped off by a giant corporation.

How?

It’s called “forced arbitration.”

• Forced arbitration clauses are a non-negotiable part of the take-it-or-leave-it contracts and terms of service we all sign or accept as part of everyday life.

• They prevent workers and consumers from having their day in court when companies violate the law.

• These clauses come with big things — like when you start a job, enroll in a health insurance plan, buy a car, rent an apartment, or take out a mortgage.

• And they come with smaller things — like when you buy a washing machine, open a bank account, join a gym, or switch Internet providers.

• You may even have unknowingly agreed to a forced arbitration clause when you bought the phone, tablet, or computer you’re reading this email on.

• In forced arbitration, your case is decided by a private arbitration firm chosen by the company you are trying to hold accountable.

• There is no judge or jury. Arbitrators do not have to follow the law or legal precedent. And there is generally no right to appeal.

• Arbitrators rule in favor of the company — rather than the employee or consumer — a staggering percentage of the time.

• And the whole process — including the arbitrators’ rulings — happens in secret. So individual perpetrators, as well as institutions that enable them, evade public accountability.

Forced arbitration clauses can even apply in cases about egregious instances of sexual harassment and assault — perpetuating such crimes by letting victimizers escape justice and keeping wrongdoing in the shadows.

But that could change soon.

The House of Representatives is considering a bill that would end the use of forced arbitration in cases about sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Tell Congress:

Survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault deserve their day in court. Individuals and businesses that perpetrate or permit such crimes must be held accountable. Pass the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (H.R. 4445).

Add your name now.

Thank you for taking action.

For justice,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 

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