Two leading Senate Democrats yesterday introduced a bill that would strictly limit the use of arbitration, a process used to resolve legal disputes that is often stacked against consumers, the New York Times reported today. The bill, introduced by Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and co-sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), would prevent civil rights cases, employment disputes and other crucial lawsuits from being forced into arbitration, where judges and juries have been replaced by arbitrators who commonly consider the companies their clients. “Legal fine print tips the scales against us,” Leahy said. “It is forcing consumers into private arbitration, denying us of our constitutional right to protect ourselves in court.” Regulators and lawmakers have been pushing to prevent companies, large and small, from inserting arbitration clauses in contracts.
