Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Bill to End Forced Arbitration on Civil Rights Protections

WASHINGTON – Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement applauding the introduction of the Restoring Statutory Rights Act of 2016 by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). This bill restores the rights of employees and consumers to have their civil rights protected in the courts and not by forced arbitration:

“Civil rights advocates have fought tirelessly for decades to ensure that people in the United States are not discriminated against in the workplace, in the marketplace, and when securing a home.  We have made tremendous progress, but much of it is threatened by the growing use of forced arbitration.

With forced arbitration, companies that violate our nation’s civil rights laws are able to opt-out of answering for their behavior in court and instead force their victims into a secretive, biased, and often expensive private forum.  The devastating result is that victims are unable to seek justice under established laws and even the most hideous civil rights violations remain concealed.

We applaud Sen. Leahy for introducing a bill to reinvigorate the full protection offered by our civil rights laws by restoring access to justice for those whose rights have been violated. We urge Congress to quickly pass this bill to move us toward ensuring equal protection for all.”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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