Attorney General Jim Hood joined a bipartisan coalition of 56 states and territories today urging Congress to end secret, forced arbitration in cases of workplace sexual harassment.
“All victims have a right to their day in court, and victims of sexual harassment should be no different,” said Attorney General Jim Hood. “Too often employees are required to sign employment contracts containing arbitration agreements mandating that sexual harassment claims be resolved through private arbitration instead of the judicial process. “The secrecy surrounding these proceedings can protect serial violators and provide inadequate relief to victims.”
As Congress considers legislation regarding sexual harassment, the letter sent by the attorneys general to Congressional leaders asks that they pass appropriately-tailored legislation to ensure that sexual harassment victims are not forced into arbitration.
“Congress today has both opportunity and cause to champion the rights of victims of sexual harassment in the workplace by enacting legislation to free them from the injustice of forced arbitration and secrecy when it comes to seeking redress from egregious misconduct condemned by all concerned Americans,” the letter states.
