Congressman Steven Horsford Votes to End Forced Arbitration and Defend the Legal Rights of Employees and Consumers Nationwide | Congressman Steven Horsford
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Congressman Steven Horsford Votes to End Forced Arbitration and Defend the Legal Rights of Employees and Consumers Nationwide

September 20, 2019

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) voted today to pass the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (H.R. 1423), also known as the FAIR Act. Congressman Horsford co-sponsored this legislation that would end the use of forced arbitration in consumer, employment, civil rights, and antitrust disputes.

"Most Americans don't realize when they are bound by forced arbitration until it is too late. The FAIR Act would protect everyday Americans like my constituents, who may not realize they have been trapped by such a clause," Congressman Horsford said. "This critically important measure restores access to justice for millions of Americans who are forced to settle their disputes against companies in a private system of arbitration that often favors the company over the individual."

Buried in the fine print of countless consumer and employment contracts, arbitration clauses harm countless consumers and workers across the country. The Economic Policy Institute reported that more than 60 million workers "no longer have access to the courts to protect their legal employment rights and instead must go to arbitration."

According to a report from CNBC, "Eighty-oneof the biggest 100 companies in America have put legal clauses in the fine print of their customer agreements that bar consumers from suing them in federal court and instead force victims to pursue a private dispute resolution method called arbitration, where they argue their case outside of the court system." These clauses also prevent employees from suing their employers in federal court, including instances of harassment and discrimination.

Forced arbitration also deprives working Americans of most fundamental legal protection: the right to equal justice under the law. Statutory protections against 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—are meaningless if they are unenforceable in court.

This bill is supported by a broad coalition of more than 70 public interest, labor, consumer, civil rights, and advocacy organizations, including Public Citizen, Consumer Reports, Earthjustice, Alliance for Justice, the American Association of Justice, the Communications Workers of America, the Leadership Conference of Civil Rights, the NAACP, and the American Antitrust Institute.