On the recordFebruary 4, 2016
I rise today to discuss the widespread and harmful impact of forced arbitration--mandatory arbitration. Last November, the New York Times published a three-part investigative series, which I recommend to every Member, on the pervasive use of forced arbitration--or mandatory arbitration. Mandatory arbitration is a privatized system of justice that corporations rely on when their customers or workers seek justice for being cheated, injured, or mistreated. The series in the New York Times, while shocking, illustrates something that I have been saying for a long time: Mandatory arbitration agreements--forced arbitration agreements, which are often buried in the fine print of employment and service contracts, severely restrict Americans' access to justice by stripping consumers and workers of their legal rights and insulating corporations from liability. From nursing home contracts and employment agreements to credit card and cell phone contracts, corporate America uses forced arbitration clauses to rig the system against ordinary Americans in a wide variety of cases. My staff recently heard from a Minnesota lawyer who represents families with serious injury and wrongful death claims. He told the heartbreaking story of a man who suffered from dementia and was eventually checked into a nursing home. Twenty-one days after entering the home, it became clear to the man's family that his life was in danger; he was rapidly losing weight and had fallen into a coma.…
