[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 49 (Friday, March 18, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H3842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMERICANS NEED PROTECTION FROM CORPORATE GREED AND ABUSE
(Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, we need to protect the American people from
corporate greed and abuse. The FAIR Act is one of those protections.
Corporations use forced arbitration clauses to deny Americans their
right to seek accountability and justice in disputes with private
companies. They literally eliminated any chance a resident may have for
accountability and justice from a dispute, specifically in the place of
employment.
From employee handbooks to bank documents to college admission
paperwork, companies include forced arbitration clauses as the main
form of dispute resolution so that they can rig the rules and appoint
themselves judge and jury in the arbitration process.
Forced arbitration is a private, secretive system without any
enforceable standards or legal protections for our people. There is no
public disclosure of proceedings or any requirements for arbitrators to
follow the law.
Madam Speaker, forced arbitration makes it virtually impossible for
antidiscrimination laws, disability rights laws, and so many other
important laws to be enforced at the Federal level.
To put it simply, this is unjust, and has failed the American public
for far too long.
Earlier this year, President Biden signed a law ending forced
arbitration for cases involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.
So I urge the Senate to pass this legislation and send it to the
President's desk so that we can protect the rights of consumers and
workers from corporations that seek to exploit them.
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