Democratic lawmakers today announced a new bill aimed at ending the practice of forced arbitration in employment contracts. The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal, or FAIR Act, seeks to end the use of mandatory arbitration clauses, which are often inserted into workers contracts to require that employees waive their right to sue their employers. With the right to sue waived, employee complaints instead can only go through a private system where employers are automatically given the upper hand in disputes.

As reported by The Verge, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), called the practice of forced arbitration, “fundamentally unfair and un-American,” and said the FAIR Act, was about “guaranteeing every individual their day in court.”

Google employee organizers joined with lawmakers during the bill’s announcement, as just last week the tech giant said it would end forced arbitration for all employee disputes. This decision came after formidable pushback from Google’s workers and expands on a previous decision made by the company to end forced arbitration in instances of sexual harassment and assault.

Upholding Employee Rights

Lieff Cabraser has a strong tradition of fighting for employee rights across America. Our employment law class action cases challenge discrimination based on employees’ race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability; wage violations, including failure to pay overtime, break time, or vacation time; and misuse of employees’ retirement benefits. We also represent employees who “blow the whistle” on wrongdoing by their employers as well as in other cases alleging violations of the law.

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