PRESS STATEMENT: February 10, 2022
Contact: Brian Gumm
Center for Progressive Reform
(202) 747-0698 x2
“A Good Day for Justice”
Statement of Center for Progressive Reform Senior Policy Analyst M. Isabelle Chaudry on Senate passage of
the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act
Today is a good day for justice. We at the Center for Progressive Reform applaud the U.S. Senate for clearing critical women’s safety legislation that would enable survivors of sexual assault and harassment to hold their abusers accountable in court. The bill overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House with broad bipartisan support earlier this week and now heads to President Biden’s desk. We eagerly await his signature.
When signed, this law will take an important step toward ensuring survivors have access to a free and fair trial, a fundamental human right that has eroded in recent decades as employers have increasingly forced workers to file claims of abuse under a rigged process of arbitration. This widespread and growing practice tilts outcomes in favor of abusers and robs survivors of their right to pursue justice in the courts.
We’re pleased Congress is finally taking action to protect women in the workplace — and grateful to the #MeToo movement, the millions of women who fueled it, and our many allies and partners for demanding action on this urgent matter.
But this law is only a first step. Courts must interpret it broadly and in a way that doesn’t split claims of harassment and assault from other employer harms.
Congress must also end forced arbitration in other cases of corporate harm and abuse. As our new report explains, forced arbitration harms nearly all U.S. consumers and a growing majority of workers, and marginalized groups pay the highest price. This egregious practice must end now.
To learn more, register for our February 15 webinar about the effects of forced arbitration on marginalized communities, co-hosted with the Workers' Rights Institute at Georgetown Law Center.
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