Senate Protects Employee Rights With Forced Arbitration Ban
Yesterday, the Senate adopted an amendment that will prevent federal funding from going to any contractor that requires its employees to use mandatory binding arbitration, instead of court, for sexual assault and civil rights claims against the company.
The amendment was in response to the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, the former Halliburton/KBR employee who allegedly was raped by coworkers in Iraq's green zone and imprisoned by her superiors. When she returned to the U.S. and sued her former employer for claims relating to the rape, the company tried to force her into arbitration instead of court.
Last month, a court held that Jones's case couldn't be compelled into arbitration. With this amendment, victims will no longer have to sue to be able to sue for sexual assault and discrimination claims.
The passage of this amendment is a good step toward ending forced arbitration, a secretive, unfair, and lawless system that companies force on consumers, employees, and franchise owners. A larger bill, the Arbitration Fairness Act, would ban these forced arbitration clauses from these types of contracts.
Senate OKs Measure Related to KBR Assault Claim [Houston Chronicle]
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Comments:
This sounds like a good first step.
Let's keep the ball rolling and ban it completely.
this is a huge win for workers.
probably in response to the Halliburton rape case.
The amendment is very welcome and I hope to see it adopted. Caution that it is attached to a defense appropriation bill which normally winds up as a Christmas Tree bill before it finally gets past. I would prefer to pin my hopes on the Arbitration Fairness Act.
That said, Jamie Leigh Jones has been treated horribly by her employer. Halliburton should have been debarred as a result of this case.
Thank Senator Franken for that. It was his amendment.
Hallelujah!! Bet some HR directors and workplace bigots and gropers will be thinking twice now. This should have been done a LONG time ago.
Senator Franken deserves a big round of applause for introducing this amendment.
@mac-phisto: There are a number of OTHER things to say to the people who voted NO on this resolution, claiming that it was just an "Anti KBR/Haliburton" smear job by evil dems.
@attackgypsy: Yup. I was about to mention that. And it is his first amendment too. So good job so far.
When I was growing up, I considered myself Republican.
Then things like "Only 10 of the 40 GOP members in the Senate voted for this amendment." happened.
Libertarian is the new old Republican. Pass it on.
1) Thanks Senator Franken.
2) The 30 Senators who voted against this should be ashamed of themselves. Particularly Sen. Sessions who has a lot of damn gall to lack that much self awareness, considering his vote to prohibit any governmental funds directed to ACORN.
@TheWillow: Even in the fevered imagination of Rep. Bachmann, I don't think ACORN is responsible for killing Americans. Can't say the same thing about KBR.
@bornonbord: What you say is true: There is a legitimate place for arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution method. However, this particular application of it was rather horrid.
@MostlyHarmless_Under Influenza: I've been wildly impressed by Franken so far, even more so than I expected. I knew he was an incredibly intelligent man, but he's shown so far that he's classy as hell as a senator. I saw an awesome video of him talking down some death panel crazies, it was truly something to witness. I wish I could vote for him!
@H3ion: yes. debarred & disgorged. what kind of message do we send by continuing to do business with these thugs?
@mxjohnson: This is incredible. Thanks for posting this. I really think Senator Franken has stepped up and done an amazing job so far. I really hope he's around for many more years.
@InThrees: I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I know a lot of people like you (Republicans with brains and consciences, or so I would assume), and I sincerely hope for all your sakes that the fringe crazies get more and more ridiculous, so that they burn themselves up, and you people can take over the Republican party again. Please please please. It so needs to happen.
@mac-phisto: Yeah, dammit, why does anyone do business with Halliburton?
(Disclaimer: I work for a major competitor of Halliburton. I've even been to the Middle East on business for my company. But my co-workers have never attempted any funny business with me... although there's one or two I wouldnt exactly... um, never mind.)
FYI here is the list of assholes who voted against this bill:
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
@mxjohnson: you think it's a coincidence that of the 9 Rs who voted Yea, 4 of them are the only Rs in the Senate with two X chromosomes?
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
LeMieux (R-FL), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
@PunditGuy: Please - All ACORN did was have a few members provide tax advice (whether seriously or in jest is up to who you ask) to a fake hooker and her fake pimp.
Somehow these Senators care more about the fake pimps of the world than the real rape victims.
@twophrasebark: Yay! Alabama once again has both of our illustrious Senators on the wrong side of an issue.
A total no-brainer...
And still, there are politicians who will look at an issue and go "Nah. Common sense and basic decency still don't matter."
I've written Burr's office before, with a kind-of politely worded "just what the fuck were you thinking voting the way you did on X bill? You're really raising the hackles of previously politically inactive constituents. Please formally note this constituent's opposition to your stance on [issue]."
I got a form letter back saying "Thank you for your continued support of [Burr's stance on issue]." I decided to play along, wrote back saying "well, did you all read my correspondence? I said I was AGAINST Burr's stance and would like him to please stop pretending he's representing me and millions of others."
...I never heard back. Surprise.
@InThrees: I think people would call me a Libertarian. But I really don't give a damn. The labels are worthless because of the loudest 10% of each party. Really, for so many groups - not just political ones.
I could very easily take a Republican-esque stance on many things if the party hadn't [s]made a sandbox of its adult diaper[/s] gotten so deep into fundamentalist theology, and applying it to as many issues as it could.
Republicans are Pro-Rape.
It is time to remove every politician who votes in the best interest of corporations when they are in the worst interest of Human Beings. This would remove most politicians from both sides of the aisle.
This country is now a corporate theocracy. People have little power. Corporations have virtually all of it.
@TheWillow: To be fair, Collins and Snowe tend to vote out of step with the Rs generally, so they're not hugely surprising. Really interesting that they got Hatch, though.
@suburbancowboy: Quit being an extremist. Businesses (which are owned by humans...) have rights as well, and need to br protected from people who like to randomly sue them.
There is a balance that has to be kept, but to say helping businesses is bad, is just stupid. In this case, the men who commited the rape were wrong, the business was wrong for not handling it right, etc. But There are also laws against a lot of what they did and they will be punished for it.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: Businesses sue each other, too. Funnily, they don't feel the need to "protect" themselves with arbitration clauses as much as they do when they're dealing with their customers.
@mxjohnson: The people who voted "no" are just shameless -- if they were representing my state, I'd be pissed. Methinks they just blindly reject any pro-consumer legislation, and even a RAPE VICTIM won't sway them.
@ludwigk: there is no place for arbitration when it comes to crimes of violence. Passed over for promotion? Unfairly denied vacation leave? Fine, artibration. Gang raped, drugged and imprisoned? No.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: they will only be punished - if in fact they are punished - because this employee decided not to accept the terms of her contract. She was supposed to be docile and quiet and just shut up about it. There would have been no repercussions to KBR at all if she had done as she was supposed to. This is why we need a regulation like this. And it should apply to all US corporations, not just ones that get federal contracts. Nobody should be denied their day in court to keep their job.
I'd like to know why David Vitter, John Ensign, John McCain, and other prominent Republicans voted to support corporations' "right" to rape employees. Have they explained why yet?
@floraposte: I like to think that the reason they vote out of step is BECAUSE of their chromosomes. :-D
@ludwigk: I can't think of a single situation where forced binding arbitration is legit.
Two parties agreeing to arbitration and an actual impartial third party can work but it isn't the situation.
@MostlyHarmless_Under Influenza: I knew he would. The negative hype around Franken was smear campaign by Coleman. Franken actually has some very sound and well thought out ideas.
@twophrasebark: I should have known Thune would have voted against this. He won his seat due to a big "family values" push by Focus on the Family. I guess raping someone and giving them no legal recourse is a "family value" (at least according to Thune's version).
I hope Herseth-Sandlin runs for Thune's seat. Thune is a perpetual embarrassment for SD.
there's really only one thing to say to this:
WOOHOO!