In the News

From The New York Times: 05/15/2020.

"The problem is that immunity doesn’t just shield the worst actors; it also punishes the best, by giving a competitive advantage to the businesses that decide to cut corners at the expense of worker and customer health and safety."

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From The Boston Globe: 05/15/2020.

"It would be terrible for Congress to reduce the threat of lawsuits for employers in such egregious situations. The prospect of being sued for negligence helps to hold companies accountable for public-health and safety regulations that the government can’t enforce through inspections alone."

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From Reuters: 05/15/2020.

"But so far, court records show few such cases have been filed and some legal experts say the threat of liability is exaggerated because of the difficulty of proving where someone was infected."

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From The American Prospect: 05/08/2020.

"There is almost no institution less vulnerable than the corporation, which McConnell has nonetheless placed at the top of the list of his bailout priorities. 'We were shocked because the public wants more than anything to feel safe, and if no one is accountable no one is safe,' said Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice. 'But we’re not surprised because the majority leader has been trying to immunize corporate conduct for 34 years.'"

From The Washington Post: 05/03/2020.

"The Senate majority leader may have powerful business lobbies behind him, but he still risks violating what is, or should be, a cardinal rule for both parties during the crisis: Do not exploit it to pursue preexisting policy agendas. Curbing class-action and other lawsuits on behalf of workers and consumers — “tort reform” — has been on the GOP wish list for years, and Mr. McConnell apparently sees an opportunity to advance it, using critical state and local budget shortfalls as leverage."

From Roll Call: 04/29/2020.

"Linda Lipsen, the CEO of the American Association of Justice, said the economy won’t restart if people feel they are at risk and can’t hold those responsible. 'There are more than 50,000 dead Americans and counting and our economy is at a standstill, yet Leader McConnell and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce want to give immunity to corporations that harm consumers and workers by not taking precautions against COVID-19,' she said."

From Jalopnik: 12/16/2019.

"Among the many provisions that make this clear is the arbitration provision, which requires drivers to settle disputes with the company in private, closed-door proceedings decided by an arbitrator paid by Uber rather than in court. It also prevents them from joining class-action lawsuits such as over their employment status as independent contractors."

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From Maine Beacon: 12/03/2019.

"An estimated 56 percent of Maine employers may have made it impossible for their workers to sue them in court for wage theft, safety hazards, sexual harassment, racial discrimination or other violations protected by labor laws."

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From the American Prospect: 11/26/2019.

"Some new statistics from the nation’s leading tech firms on arbitration serve as evidence for an argument that critics of the practice have long contended: that forced arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts build barriers to disputing the conduct of large companies."

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From the Chicago Tribune: 11/19/2019.

"Welcome to the world of adhesion contracts: Contracts that include terms that are unfavorable to you but over which you had no chance to bargain. Amtrak's policy went into effect last January, but it finally came to the attention of public officials last week, some of whom don't like it. But it's hardly anything new: All sorts of companies have been using contracts of adhesion for years. Although details differ, in travel, the two worst provisions are mandatory arbitration of disputes and forum clauses."