Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 963, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act of 2022, by a bipartisan vote of 222-209. This legislation, introduced by Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA), protects the rights of everyday consumers, workers, and small businesses by prohibiting the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in consumer, labor, antitrust, and civil rights disputes. The FAIR Act now goes to the Senate, where Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has introduced the companion legislation. 

“I am grateful to help have helped ushered a bipartisan vote on the FAIR Act today,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler. “By ending the practice of forced arbitration, this critical legislation will take away companies get-out-of-jail-free card and restore access to justice for millions of Americans who are currently locked out of the court system. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to vote on this bill without delay.”

“My bill will restore fairness to the American justice system by reasserting individuals’ right to access the court system,” said Congressman Hank Johnson. “The FAIR Act would ensure that men and women contracting with more powerful entities aren’t forced into private arbitration, where the bigger party often has the advantage of choosing the arbitrator in an unappealable decision. I appreciate my colleagues’ support in passing this commonsense reform. I’m in Congress to stand up for the voiceless and the powerless, and this bill, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act, or the FAIR Act, is a testament to that.”

“Buried deep within the fine print of everyday contracts, forced arbitration clauses deprive hardworking Americans and small businesses of their day in court when they attempt to hold corporations accountable for breaking the law,” said Congressman David N. Cicilline, Chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. “This outrageous practice lacks the procedural safeguards of our justice system, is not subject to oversight, has no judge or jury, and is not bound by laws passed by Congress or the states. It is nothing short of a corporate takeover of our nation’s systems of laws, affecting nearly every American, and cannot be allowed to continued.”