House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer spoking about Democrats’ record on job creation and the economy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. (Photo Credit: Ralph Alswang, CC 2.0) Washington DC is justifiably obsessed with the formal impeachment inquiry launched by House Democrats in response to a whistleblower complaint alleging that … [Read more...]
Democrats Push for Mandatory Arbitration Ban
On the last day of February 2019, Democrats in Congress introduced House and Senate bills to prohibit companies in the United States from enforcing mandatory arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, civil rights, and antitrust disputes. The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR) of 2019 is the most recent effort to undo the … [Read more...]
Kentucky Supreme Court: Employers Can’t Condition Employment on Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
The mandatory arbitration agreement is one tactic large companies use to limit their liability and control an employee or customer's access to the court system. A mandatory arbitration agreement requires the signing parties – which can be a consumer or an employee, though this post will focus on employment contracts – to surrender their rights to … [Read more...]
Women Can Face Humiliating Questioning When Filing Sex Discrimination Lawsuits
There is a depressing pattern that arises whenever a woman files a high-profile gender discrimination or sexual harassment lawsuit against a powerful individual or institution. After the initial coverage, all the same questions come up over and over again: why did she wait so long? Why did she put up with this behavior for so many years? If it was … [Read more...]
California Bill Could Mitigate the Damaging Effects of Forced Arbitration
The US has seen, in recent years, the decline of unions and worker protections. This decline has come in a variety of forms, but perhaps most insidious is a phenomenon known as forced arbitration. Thanks to a little-known contractual clause, consumers and workers, alike, face severe obstacles to seeking justice after being wronged by businesses … [Read more...]
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act
Mandatory arbitration clauses have been a sore spot for a lot workers and consumers in recent years. When these provisions are included in contracts, they preclude the possibility of taking a complaint to court and force claims into black-box arbitrations. Funneling claims into closed-door arbitration serves the interests of corporations in at … [Read more...]
California Could Pass Legislation Setting Limits on Controversial Arbitration Agreements
While Congress attempts to disrupt the implementation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule limiting arbitration agreements, the state government in California is very close to passing its own bill that would weaken those same agreements. Arbitration provisions, which can be found in most consumer contracts, have been picking up … [Read more...]
Obama Administration Pushes to Curtail Arbitration Laws
Following a report released on Monday by the US Department of Treasury, the Obama administration has been trying to convince state legislatures and insurance commissioners to regulate the use of arbitration clauses in contracts used by insurance companies. The report states, “State policy makers and insurance regulators should assess whether the … [Read more...]
Nursing Home Companies Request Overturn of Anti-Arbitration Law
Nursing home trade groups and providers argued on Monday, October 17, that the ban of mandatory arbitration clauses in cases of patient harm put forward by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) violates the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and could cause “irreparable harm.” The new rule written by the CMS would prevent nursing homes … [Read more...]
