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Congress on Thursday gave final approval to the law that allows people who become the object of sexual harassment in the workplace to file lawsuits in court.
The approval marks a milestone for the #MeToo movement that sparked a nationwide discussion on how allegations of sexual misconduct are handled.
The law, expected to be signed by President Joe Biden, prohibits employment contracts from including provisions requiring employees to resolve cases of sexual assault or harassment through arbitration rather than through the courts, a process that often benefits employers and which does not allow allegations of misconduct to be made public.
An important aspect of the law is its retroactive nature, making it possible for such a wording to change in contracts across the country and for those who have so far been obliged to apply those clauses to be able to take action. legal.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who led the legislative initiative, called it “one of the most important workplace reforms in American history.”
Ms. Gilibrand said the arbitration process is secret and biased and denies individuals a fundamental constitutional right: appeal to the court.
“Survivors of sexual assault or harassment will no longer be told that they are legally barred from suing their employer since their employment contracts included a mandatory arbitration clause,” she said.
Senator Gilibrand first introduced the bill in 2017 along with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
The initiative had extremely broad bipartisan support in a split Congress. This made it possible for the bill to pass the Senate with unanimous consent – a procedure almost never used for important laws, especially the latter that affects tens of millions of Americans. The House of Representatives passed the bill this week with strong bipartisan support, 335-97.
Former Fox News journalist Gretchen Carlson, who accused then-network chief executive Roger Ailes of harassment and damaging her career when she refused, testified in support of the legislation. Some of the television employees’ contracts included binding arbitration clauses.
Ms Carlson, who appeared alongside Senator Gillibrand and other senators at a news conference after the Senate bill passed, said she could never have imagined, when she made public her allegations five years ago, that this would bring about a change in legislation that would be supported by both Democrats and Republicans.
“Street marches can inspire us. Newspaper comments can open our minds. “Solidarity on social media can electrify us, but the law is the only thing left,” Ms Carlson said.
“If there is one law that is too late, it is this law,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
He called it “almost medieval” to force victims of harassment and sexual assault to “shut up, tell no one and do not seek justice.”
According to critics, the covert nature of arbitration protects companies and perpetrators of attacks and allows corporations to avoid changing regulations or removing abusers.
Advocates of the arbitration process, including business groups, have said this is a faster and less costly way to resolve disputes than through lengthy courtroom proceedings.
Senator Graham told the Senate that it does not pose a harm to businesses that those who are bullied in the workplace are treated fairly.
“This is not a bad thing for business,” he said. “It’s good for America,” he said.
Senator Graham told a news conference that things may not be going well in Washington at the moment, but that the bill is a sign “that there is some hope, as long as we listen to each other and try to make life better where we can.” we find the common language ”.
The White House issued a statement earlier this month in support of the bill. VOA
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