Consumer Advocates Demand Congress End Forced Arbitration

November 10, 2025 — Press Release

Lobby day participants also urge lawmakers to nominate federal judges with consumer law experience 

WASHINGTON – Consumer advocates from around the country will meet with their members of Congress on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 during Consumer Justice Lobby Day, sponsored by the National Association of Consumer Advocates and NCLC. Advocates will urge lawmakers to end the use of fine-print, forced arbitration clauses that give corporate lawbreakers a get-out-of-jail free card and steal peoples’ right to their day in court. They’ll also discuss the importance of lawmakers’ support for qualified, fair-minded federal judges capable of understanding and applying consumer protection laws for the benefit of everyday people.

Forced arbitration

Corporations use their standard-form contracts to block consumers, workers, and small business owners from going to court when companies break the law. Instead, these take-it-or-leave-it agreements, for goods, services, and employment, include provisions that force harmed individuals to take their legal claims to private arbitration proceedings that often favor the more powerful corporations. Forced arbitration clauses also overwhelmingly prohibit individuals with similar claims from banding together in class or collective actions. 

“Forced arbitration clauses contained in everyday terms and conditions rob Americans of their constitutional right to bring their legal complaints before a judge and jury, and insulate corporate lawbreakers from accountability,” said Christine Hines, senior policy director at the National Association of Consumer Advocates. “Congress can restore real freedom of contract and tackle the outsized power imbalance in the fine print by ensuring that all parties to a dispute can choose how and where to resolve disputes after they arise.” 

Advocates will urge Congress to support several bills to address the use of forced arbitration: 

• The FAIR Act, H.R. 5350/S. 2799. The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act prohibits the use of forced arbitration in consumer, employment, civil rights, and antitrust cases. 
• The Sunshine on Solar Lending Act, H.R. 4489, recognizes rampant deception and fraud in solar panel sales and opens the courthouse doors for cheated consumers;
• The Protecting Older Americans Act, H.R. 5115/S. 2703, ensures that corporations cannot keep serious claims of age discrimination out of the public eye.

“Congress shouldn’t allow companies that break the law to hide behind forced arbitration clauses that steal peoples’ right to their day in court,” said Patrick Crotty, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “With the federal government walking away from consumer protections, it is more important now than ever that Congress pass the FAIR Act to restore our right to defend ourselves when companies break the law.”

A balanced judiciary 

Too few federal judges have taken cases representing everyday American consumers and workers, but an overwhelming majority have worked on behalf of big banks and corporations.

Just six percent of appellate judges have professional experience in union-side labor law, employee-side wage and hour law, consumer protection, or civil legal aid. These judges are outnumbered 11 to 1 by those who advocated for corporations.

“Our courts work best when judges understand the lives of the people who appear before them,” said Ryanne Olsen, NACA’s Judicial Campaigns Director. “We need judges who know what’s at stake when someone fights back against unfair fees or risks losing their car or home due to deceptive or unfair practices. Judges with real experience protecting the rights of everyday people ensure justice for all, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”