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Forced arbitration clauses are found in fine print in contracts for bank accounts, student loans, cell phones, employment, nursing homes and more. These clauses deprive people of their day in court when a company violates the law, forcing victims into a system that is often biased, secretive and lawless. Forced arbitration clauses often contain class action bans that prevent either a judge or an arbitrator from seeing or addressing the full extent of a company’s wrongdoing. Forced arbitration frequently completely blocks any relief and operates as a get-out-of-jail-free card. NCLC is a member of the Fair Arbitration Now coalition that works to oppose forced arbitration.
Take Action to end forced arbitration
Policy Analysis
Policy Briefs, Reports and Press Releases
- Press Release: Government Should Not Deprive Seniors in Nursing Homes of Their Day in Court, Aug. 7, 2017
- Press Release: CFPB Rule Restores Consumers’ Day in Court Over Financial Misconduct, July 10, 2017
- Press Release: Fair Arbitration Now Coalition Urges the U.S. House to Stop Stripping CFPB and SEC of Authority to Restrict Forced Arbitration, May 4, 2017
- Press Release: Sterling Jewelers, Wells Fargo Scandals Show Why Forced Arbitration Must End, Mar. 7, 2017
- Press Release: Congress Moving Quickly to Squelch Worker Complaints at Federal Contractors Through Forced Arbitration, Feb. 3, 2017
- Press Release: Advocates applaud bill that would give victims of Wells Fargo fake accounts their day in court, Dec. 1, 2016
- Press Release: NCLC comments to CFPB on proposed arbitration and class action rule: Stop Bank, Payday Lender, and Scammer Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Cards and Restore Consumers’ Access to Court, Aug. 22, 2016
- Press Release: Rule to Rein in Illegal Business Practice Gains Key Support from Congress, Aug. 3, 2016
- Press Release: NCLC to testify before the Chicago City Council on harms of forced arbitration by contractors in consumer and employment agreements, June 15, 2016
- Press Release on Forced Arbitration: CFPB Issues Proposed Rules to Restore Consumers' Legal Rights, May 5, 2016
- Issue Brief: The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013
Letters
- Group letter urging California Attorney General to crack down on arbitration firms operating in secret, violating California law, March 21, 2018
- Letter from Public Citizen and Better Markets urging SEC to reject any proposals to allow companies to include forced arbitration clauses in IPOs, March 16, 2018
- Group letter urging employers to remove forced arbitration provisions in private sector employment contracts, Feb. 7, 2018
- Letter to the CFPB from 310 civil rights, labor, community, consumer and nonprofit organizations supporting the final arbitration rule, July 12, 2017
- Letter supporting Calif. SB 33 prohibiting forced arbitration of bank fraud claims, April 28, 2017
- Coalition letter to Wells Fargo urging immediate stop to using forced arbitration to deny victims of fake accounts their day in court, Feb. 24, 2017
- Coalition letter supporting H.R. 585, Feb. 6, 2017
- Coalition letters to House and Senate supporting regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order and its ban on forced arbitration, Jan. 31, 2017
- Letter from NCLC and 38 other advocacy organizations urging the FCC to oppose opt-in customer consent for broadband & other telecom. providers and to prohibit forced arbitration clauses in contracts, Sept. 7, 2016
Comments
- Group comments to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opposing proposed changes to strip legal rights from vulnerable residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities, Aug. 7, 2017. Related press release.
- Comments Responding to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s #Solutions2020 Call to Action Plan, Jan. 11, 2017
- Comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding Arbitration Agreements, Aug. 2016
Testimony
- NCLC testimony before the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission on state measures to address forced arbitration, October 10, 2018.
- NCLC testimony before the Chicago City Council on harms of forced arbitration by contractors in consumer and employment agreements, June 15, 2016.
- NCLC testimony before the New York State Assembly on the harms of forced arbitration clauses, February 10, 2016
Model State Laws Limiting Arbitration
- The Model State Consumer and Employee Justice Enforcement Act Titles IX & X, Jan. 2017
- The Model State Consumer and Employee Justice Enforcement Act, November 2015
