[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 27 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S619-S620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FORCED ARBITRATION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, it has been a busy, productive, and 
truly bipartisan week here in the U.S. Senate.
  After days of fruitful cooperation from both sides, the Senate is now 
a few moments away from approving one of the most significant changes 
to employment law in years, eliminating for good the awful practice of 
forcing victims of sexual harassment and assault into arbitration.
  An hour from now, we will be able to say this: The House has acted; 
the Senate has acted; and we are sending bipartisan forced arbitration 
reform to the President's desk. It is a momentous reform bill and one 
that is painfully overdue.
  For decades, arbitration clauses have been routinely tucked into the 
fine print of employment contracts. Today, they impact about 60 million 
Americans. And many people may not even realize such clauses affect 
them, until it is too late.
  All of us have heard the searing testimonies of those who have faced 
harassment or abuse at work, only to discover their jobs offered 
precious little in accountability.
  Countless careers have been derailed or undone. Worse still, 
countless lives have been forever damaged. And for decades, workplace 
practices, like mandatory arbitration, have perpetuated cultures of 
abuse and unaccountability.
  We can't ignore a basic reality of these clauses. They deprive 
victims of sexual harassment and assault of their basic rights by 
mandating they seek

[[Page S620]]

remedy only behind closed doors of private arbitration, with no other 
alternative.
  This is wrong; it is unfair; and it is about time it changed. And 
that is exactly what we will accomplish through this bipartisan 
legislation. It will not only ensure that those who have suffered 
sexual harassment or assault have the option to go to court if they 
choose, it will also be retroactive. People locked into these clauses 
right now will benefit just as much as new employees will in the 
future. That is an important point that hasn't gotten enough attention. 
It will undo the pernicious effect of these clauses that already exist.
  I want to thank my friend and fellow New Yorker, Senator Gillibrand, 
for spending years advocating for this legislation. This accomplishment 
wouldn't be possible without her leadership and her commitment to 
working with the other side.
  Likewise, I want to thank Senator Graham and Senator Ernst for 
reaching across the aisle and working with us to get this bill done.
  Yesterday, Senators Graham and Ernst met in my office, and we came to 
an agreement to move this forward. And we very much appreciate that. It 
was truly a collaborative effort by the Senate, and thanks to 
everyone's work, forced arbitration for sexual assault and harassment 
will soon be a thing of the past.
  As I said in my very first speech as majority leader, Democrats will 
always be open to working with Members of the other side of the aisle 
when the opportunity arises. The differences between the parties are 
real and cannot be ignored, but we can neither ignore the genuine 
chances for progress when both parties agree to move forward on certain 
topics.
  Last year, it was precisely this majority's commitment to bipartisan 
cooperation that cleared the path for historic hate crimes legislation. 
Together, we also passed a historic jobs and supply chain bill, which 
we hope is enacted soon.
  And together, Democrats and Republicans secured the first stand-alone 
infrastructure package in years.

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