Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks In Advance Of President Biden Signing Legislation To End Forced Arbitration For Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment Into Law

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding legislation to end forced arbitration for sexual harassment and sexual assault, which President Biden will sign into law this afternoon. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

I want to close by noting this afternoon President Biden will sign into law bipartisan legislation ending forced arbitration for sexual assault and sexual harassment.

All of us have heard the searing testimonies of those who have faced harassment or abuse at work only to discover their jobs offered precious little in accountability. Countless careers have been derailed or undone. Worse still, countless lives have been forever damaged. And for decades, workplace practices like mandatory arbitration have perpetuated cultures of abuse and unaccountability.

We can’t ignore a basic reality of these clauses: they deprive victims of sexual harassment and assault of their basic rights by mandating that they seek remedy only behind the closed doors of private arbitration, with no other alternative.

With the President’s signature today, that will come to an end. I want to thank Senator Gillibrand for leading the fight for years, and I am glad that I was able to work with Senators Graham and Ernst to push this bill over the finish line.

By the end of today we will be able to say the Senate acted, the House acted, the President Acted, and now forced arbitration reform is now law.

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