The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2011 is a proposed law in the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
to reverse the effects of ''
14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett'' and ''
AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion''. Both judgments held, 5 judges to 4 dissenting justices, that employees and consumers were not entitled to claim for rights in public courts if they had agreed to arbitration in a collective or individual agreement. The result has been negation of statutory rights by contract.
Background
The Bill was introduced in May 2011 by Senators
Richard Blumenthal
Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...
(D-CT),
Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
(D-MN) and 11 Senate co-sponsors. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representative
[H.R. 1873] by
Representative Henry “Hank” Johnson -GA The bill, first introduced to Congress in 2007, leaves arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements between employers and labor unions unaffected “except that no such arbitration provision shall have the effect of waiving the right of an employee to seek judicial enforcement of a
ederal or state law, or federal or state Constitutionalright or related public policy.
The bill would also bar the enforcement of mandatory arbitration clauses between corporations and consumers or non-union employees.
The bill‘s “findings” section states that:
[Arbitration Fairness Act, Section 2]*Most consumers and employees have little or no meaningful choice whether to submit their claims to arbitration.
::*Mandatory arbitration undermines the development of public law because there is inadequate transparency and inadequate judicial review of arbitrators’ decisions.
::*Arbitration can be an acceptable alternative when consent to the arbitration is truly voluntary, and occurs after the dispute arises.
The House Judiciary Committee referred the bill to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law on June 1, 2011.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the Arbitration Fairness Act on October 13, 2011.
See also
*
US labor law
United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "org ...
*
US consumer law
Notes
{{reflist
References
*
United States labor law