Fair Arbitration

Most Americans don't know that they are bound by forced arbitration. Buried in the fine print of employment, cell phone, credit card, retirement account, home building, and nursing home contracts are mandatory arbitration clauses. Just by taking a job or buying a product or service, individuals are forced to give up their right to go to court if they are harmed by a company. Because the private system of forced arbitration benefits companies – and disadvantages consumers and employees – more and more industries are using forced arbitration to evade accountability.
In arbitration, there is no judge, jury or right to an appeal. The arbitrators do not have to follow the law, and there is no public review of decisions to ensure the arbitrator got it right. Moreover, contracts typically name the arbitration firm that must be used – the one preferred by the company.
People who have been harmed by fraud, predatory lending, discrimination, negligence, defective products or scams should not be forced into arbitration: they should have a choice.
Take Action Against Forced Arbitration
LEARN MORE ABOUT Arbitration Fairness
MORE RESOURCES ON FORCED ARBITRATION
- Press Release: U.S. Supreme Court Shuts Courthouse Door to Consumers, Employees Challenging Unfair Arbitration Clauses, June 21, 2010
- Press Release: Win: Maryland High Court Says Third Parties Can’t Sign Away Nursing Home Residents’ Right to Go to Court, May 24, 2010
- Press Release: Arbitrators, Civil Rights Groups Tell U.S. Supreme Court: Don’t Erode Access to Courts, April 1, 2010
- Press Release: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Let Corporate America Judge Itself?, March 26, 2010
- Press Release: Senate Vote Will Hold Military Contractors Accountable, Protect Employees Who Are Victims of Sexual Assault, December 19, 2009
- Press Release: Franken Amendment Will Hold Military Contractors Accountable, October 6, 2009
- Press Release: Forced Arbitration Is Ubiquitous, New Public Citizen Study Finds, September 14, 2009
- Report: Forced Arbitration: Unfair and Everywhere, September 14, 2009
- Letter to William K. Slate II, President of the American Arbitration Association (PDF), September 14, 2009
- Letter to Chris Poole, President and CEO of JAMS (PDF), September 14, 2009
- Press Release: Coalition Encouraged by Bank of America's Decision to Stop Using Forced Arbitration; Now Congress Must Act, August 14, 2009
- Press Release: Minnesota Settlement With National Arbitration Forum Demonstrates Need for Congress to Curb Forced Arbitration, July 20, 2009
- Press Release: Minnesota Attorney General’s Suit Shines Light on Unfair Arbitration Practices, July 15, 2009
- Press Release: Consumer Financial Protection Agency Bill is Right to Address Forced Arbitration, Says Coalition, July 14, 2009
- Report: Home Court Advantage: How the Building Industry Uses Forced Arbitration to Evade Accountability, May 20, 2009
- Letters to 17 State Attorneys General Urging them to Investigate Deceptive “Warranty” Programs, May 20, 2009
- Press Release: Home Builder Used Forced Arbitration to Avoid Accountability, May 20, 2009
- Press Release: Warrantless Injustice: Public Citizen Report Exposes Builders’ Use of Forced Arbitration and Deceptive Warranties to Escape Accountability for Construction Flaws, May 20, 2009
- Press Release: Poll: Americans Oppose Forced Arbitration, Demand Corporations Be Held Accountable, April 29, 2009
- Press Release: End Forced Arbitration Now, Groups Tell Congress, April 21, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Pass Bill to Protect Families From Unscrupulous Nursing Home Contracts, March 4, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Protect Used Car Buyers From Fraud, Shady Contracts, March 4, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Level Playing Field Between Consumers And Corporations, Pass Arbitration Fairness Act, February 12, 2009
- Press Release: Much-Needed Fair Pay Act Won’t Fully Help Some Employees, January 23, 2009
- Press Release: Nursing Home Industry Launches Campaign of Deception To Derail Protections for Elderly Residents, September 11, 2008
- Report: The Arbitration Debate Trap: How Opponents of Corporate Accountability Distort the Debate on Arbitration, July 20, 2008
- Letter to Members of Congress About the Arbitration Debate Trap, July 29, 2008
- Press Release: Chamber Research Flawed; Empirical Studies Prove That Arbitration Harms Consumers, July 29, 2008
- Press Release: Important Consumer Protections Move Ahead; House Subcommittee Passes Arbitration Reform Bills, July 15, 2008
- Letter of Support for the Arbitration Fairness Act Signed by 32 Groups, December 11, 2007
- Testimony of Laura MacCleery Before the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, About Arbitration (PDF), October 25, 2007
- Fact Sheet: Banking Industry & Arbitration Firms Still Wrong on Binding Mandatory Arbitration: Public Citizen Responds to Latest PR Spin, October 2007
- Report: The Arbitration Trap: How Credit Card Companies Ensnare Consumers, September 27, 2007
- News Coverage of The Arbitration Trap Report, December 2007
- Press Release: Mandatory Arbitration Enables Credit Card Companies To Trap Consumers, September 27, 2007
- Press Release: Mandatory Arbitration Stacks Deck Against Credit Cardholders, Data Show, September 27, 2007
- Press Release: Report Reveals How Credit Card Companies Trap Consumers with Arbitration, September 27, 2007
- Press Release: Statement of Troy Cornock: Victim of Binding Mandatory Arbitration Speaks Out, September 27, 2007
- Press Release: Public Citizen Urges Support for the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, July 12, 2007
- Fact Sheet about the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007
- Fact Sheet: What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Binding Mandatory Arbitration, 2007
- Bibliography of Law Review Articles on Binding Mandatory Arbitration, 2007
- Press Release: National Public Interest Organizations Urge Rhode Island’s Governor to Sign Consumer Protection Bill, July 12, 2005
- Press Release: Consumers Unwittingly Give Up Rights Through Binding Mandatory Arbitration Clauses Tucked in Contracts, February 24, 2005
- Press Release: Groups Launch Nationwide Effort to Stop Use of Binding Mandatory Arbitration Clauses, February 24, 2005
- Letter Urging State Insurance Commissioners to Investigate Questionable Arbitration Firm (PDF), August 12, 2004
- Press Release: Public Citizen Calls for 12 States to Investigate Insurers’ Use of Questionable Arbitration Firm, August 17, 2004
- Report: Cost of Arbitration: Executive Summary, May 1, 2002
- Press Release: Arbitration More Expensive Than Court – So Costly That Many Victims of Consumer Fraud, Employment Discrimination Give Up, May 1, 2002
- Press Release: Supreme Court Arbitration Decision Won’t Do Much to Help Employees, January 18, 2002
- Press Release: Fourth Circuit Decision on Arbitration a Setback for Employee Rights, November 26, 2001
- Press Release: Congress Should Ban Use of Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Contracts, March 1, 2000