Bill Introduced to Allow Court Access and End the Forced Arbitration of Race Claims
Many employers require prospective employees during the employment application process, to sign arbitration agreements, whereby they legally sign away their rights to file a lawsuit in a court of law for any dispute arising out of their employment.
Employers may also require existing employees to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of remaining employed. Arbitrations do not favor the employee in an employment dispute; the process favors the employer which is why so many employers are requiring them as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration agreements enable a systemic racism which silences victims of racial discrimination and it denies them their day in court.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING RACISM AT WORK, YOU SHOULD CONTACT THIS OFFICE IMMEDIATELY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION. I ACCEPT CASES FROM ALL OVER NJ AND HAVE LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN, CENTRAL, AND NORTHERN NJ TO MEET WITH CLIENTS.
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Race Discrimination Act
On May 2, 2023, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Colin Allred (D-TX) introduced legislation that would end the practice of forcing individuals who have experienced racial discrimination at work into arbitration. It is called, “The Ending Forced Arbitration of Race Discrimination Act”. This legislation is extremely important because right now many employees all over the US who experience heinous racism on the job, disparity in pay, retaliation and a hostile work environment are being denied the right to file a discrimination lawsuit in a Court. This bill, if it passes both houses of Congress and gets signed, will give workers who have suffered racism at work, the choice to go to court rather than be forced into an arbitration proceeding.
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Race Discrimination Act would allow persons who suffered racial discrimination in the workplace or race-based disparity of pay, or employer retaliation for reporting workplace racism, the legal right to file their claims in court even if they had agreed to arbitration before the employment dispute arose. The full text of the Bill can be found here.
Employers are afraid of being sued by an employee in a Court of Law because the employee has a better chance of prevailing in a court than they would in an arbitration. Additionally, if the employee does prevail, the employee’s damages awarded, which are decided by a jury of his/her peers, are likely to be much higher in a formal lawsuit filed in Court compared to resolving an employment dispute through an arbitration, where there is no jury. Forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts deprive workers of the protections provided by courts. Forced arbitration clauses silence the workers against the wrongs done to them by forcing them into confidential arbitration proceedings.
What You Can Do
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing employees who suffered race discrimination, including government workers and private employees. If you find yourself in a situation with inadequate job security because of the aforementioned issues, if you are thinking of resigning, or have been fired or think you will be fired, are being pushed out of your job or retaliated against, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.
If You Quit Your Job, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit.
If you quit your job, you may lose your right to prevail in a lawsuit. If you are thinking of quitting, or you think you will be fired, you should know that you may lose your right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
Let Me Fight for You.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and in every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.