Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice

Many large American corporations inserted arbitration clauses into number of consumer and employment contracts. This means that these companies have made it impossible for individuals to band together and take on a corporation with vast resources. Through this action, companies have been able to get away with shady business practices such as predatory lending, wage theft, and discrimination. Corporations claimed that arbitration makes it easier for individuals to resolve grievances easily, but it has the opposite effect in practice: most people drop their claims entirely.

In the fall of 2016, the National Labor Relations Board challenged some of the provisions in the employment contracts that Bridgewater Associates requires all full-time employees to sign. Arbitration was on the list, as well as the confidentiality agreement and nondisparagement clause. Wells Fargo was caught creating as many as two million sham accounts to meet business goals, and fended off thousands of customer lawsuits by moving cases into private arbitration. Lawyers have said that this legal action is an attempt to limit the bank’s accountability for fraudulent action. Customers should never have to sign away their right to fight back against corporate fraud and deceit.