The Trump administration is decimating workers’ rights
Published in CNN Business
The Trump administration is advancing policies that further rig a system that’s already stacked against working people in America. There are few more powerful examples than the administration’s support of forced arbitration, a practice in which employers require workers to agree, as a condition of employment, to resolve all workplace disputes in arbitration. It robs workers of their right to take employers to court for all types of claims and forces workers into a process that overwhelmingly favors employers.
The use of forced arbitration has been growing for several decades. However, it has received long-overdue attention in recent years as more workers have spoken out about workplace harassment. Movements like #MeToo have helped shine a light on the sexual harassment many women experience every day on the job. Workers subject to forced arbitration are required to deal with sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft cases through settlements outside the courts — a secretive process where the arbitrator may be paid by the employer.