Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following statement on the House floor in support of H.R. 963, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act of 2022: 

"H.R. 963, the 'Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act,' or the 'FAIR Act,' is critical legislation that would restore access to justice for millions of Americans who are currently locked out of the court system and are forced to settle their disputes against companies in a private system of arbitration that is often skewed in the company’s favor over the individual.

"Private arbitration has been transformed by 40 years of reckless Supreme Court decisions from a voluntary forum for companies to resolve commercial disputes into a legal nightmare for millions of consumers, employees, and others who are forced into arbitration and are unable to enforce certain fundamental rights in court. 

"By burying a forced arbitration clause deep in the fine print of take-it-or-leave-it consumer and employment contracts, companies can evade the court system—where plaintiffs have far greater legal protections—and hide wrongdoing behind a one-sided process that is tilted in their favor.

"For example, arbitration generally limits discovery, does not adhere to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, can prohibit class actions—which it almost always does—and deny the right of appeal.  Worse yet, arbitration allows the proceedings—and often even the results—to stay secret, thereby permitting companies to avoid public scrutiny of potential misconduct.

"For millions of workers and consumers, the pre-condition—whether they know it or not—of obtaining a basic service or product, such as a bank account, a cell phone, a credit card, or even a job, is that they must sign a nonnegotiable contract that includes a provision requiring all disputes to be resolved in private arbitration.

"These take-it-or-leave-it contracts, which were once clearly disfavored under the law, now seem to have been blessed by the Supreme Court as standard operating procedure in the corporate world.

"That means for millions of people, the ability to enforce consumer, labor, antitrust, and civil rights laws are subject to the whims of a private arbitrator—often selected by the companies themselves. 

"These private arbitrators are not required to provide plaintiffs any of the fundamental protections guaranteed in the courts, and their further employment can depend on building a good reputation with the companies that hire them. Unsurprisingly, arbitration has become a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card many companies use to circumvent the basic rights of consumers and workers. 

"The FAIR Act, reverses this disastrous trend by prohibiting the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in consumer, labor, antitrust, and civil rights disputes. 

"Importantly, this legislation does not preclude both parties from agreeing to arbitrate a claim after a dispute arises. It does, however, prevent unsuspecting consumers and employees from being forced to give up their right to seek justice in court.

"Last month, Congress came together in a bipartisan fashion to prohibit forced arbitration clauses in suits concerning sexual harassment and sexual assault.  Watching that legislation be signed into law was a proud moment for many of us in this Chamber.  This bill simply extends the same basic fairness in that bill to other workers and consumers.

"I thank the Gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Johnson, for his leadership on this bill, I urge my colleagues to support this vital legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time."