[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 49 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS PROCEDURES PROTECTION ACT OF 2001

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                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 4, 2001

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join today with a bipartisan 
group of colleagues to introduce the Civil Rights Procedures Protection 
Act of 2001. This bill is designed to reassert workers' rights to have 
their claims of unlawful employment discrimination.
  On March 21, 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that under 
existing law an employer can require its employees to waive their right 
to file job-related lawsuits including those involving civil rights, 
sexual harassment or discrimination. Approximately 10 percent of 
American workers are covered by similar agreements, which are 
increasingly used by Wall Street firms, high-tech companies, retailers 
and other employers seeking to avoid the cost and risks of court cases. 
This month's Court ruling, encourages more companies to follow this 
increasingly common practice.
  This practice, called ``mandatory arbitration'', requires employees 
to sign away their fundamental rights to a court hearing. As a 
condition of hiring or promotion, employers require workers to agree to 
submit any future claims of job discrimination to binding arbitration 
panels. Mandatory arbitration is increasingly relied upon by employers 
in information technology, health care, engineering and other fields. 
Such requirements are reducing civil rights protection to the status of 
the company car: a perk which can be denied at will.
  The Constitution guarantees every citizen ``equal justice under 
law''. Forcing employees to choose between their civil rights and their 
job denies them their right to equal justice. Employees who consent to 
mandatory arbitration give up their right to due process, trial by 
jury, the appeals process, and full discovery.
  By no means does this legislation ban all use of arbitration. 
Voluntary arbitration in an impartial setting can be a fair and 
inexpensive way to resolve a wide range of disputes. But when it Is 
forcibly imposed on one party with inherently less bargaining power, it 
ceases to be fair and just.
  Our legislation would protect the rights of workers to bring claims 
against their employers in cases of employment discrimination. By 
amending seven Federal civil rights statutes to make it clear that the 
powers and procedures provided under those laws are the exclusive ones 
that apply when a claim arises, the Civil Rights Procedures Protection 
Act would prevent discrimination claims from being involuntarily sent 
to binding arbitration. In short, this bill prevents employers in all 
industries from forcing employees to give up their right to go to court 
when they are discriminated against on account of race, sex, religion, 
disability, or other illegal criteria.
  By reinforcing the fundamental rights established under various civil 
rights and fair employment practice laws, our bill restores integrity 
to employer-employee relationships. No employer should be permitted to 
ask workers to check their Constitutional and civil rights at the front 
door.

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