Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate colleagues in re-introducing the Restoring Justice for Workers Act, which will help restore workers’ rights by ending the use of forced arbitration in employment disputes and ensuring the enforcement of workers’ protections under the National Labor Relations Act.
“Recent studies have shown that more than 60.1 million American workers are subject to forced arbitration policies, denying them access to the courts in the case of workplace violation claims. Nobody should be forced to give up their day in court because their employers have unfairly forced them into arbitration and threatened them with retaliation. This bill will ensure that Nevadans aren’t coerced into signing unfair agreements that don’t protect their rights.”
In addition to Senators Cortez Masto and Murray, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D-Penn.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jeffrey Merkley (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are also cosponsoring this bill
BACKGROUND
When workers experience violations of their rights such as wage theft or sexual harassment, they are increasingly encountering forced arbitration clauses that keep their claims out of court and block class actions. The Restoring Justice for Workers Act would ensure that workers are not denied their day in court when an employer violates their workplace rights by prohibiting employment agreements that force workers out of court and into private arbitration or force workers to waive their right to join class or collective lawsuits. It also prohibits retaliation against employees who refuse to sign the provisions made unlawful by the bill.
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