“Today, the House passed the FAIR Act, which eliminates forced-arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil-rights cases and allow plaintiffs to sue in court.  Doing so will ensure that consumers are protected and that they do not lose access to their right to trial under the Seventh Amendment.  Far too often, predatory forced-arbitration clauses are hidden in the fine print of everyday contracts, and many Americans unknowingly sign away their legal right to a jury trial.  Instead, they are forced to enter an arbitration forum designed by the same entity against which they might have a dispute, which is neither fair nor just.  Oftentimes, this arbitration does not have to follow standard rules and can proceed in secrecy without guarantees of due process and fairness.   In many cases, forced arbitrations require consumers and employees to play a rigged game that they rarely can win.  In addition to protecting consumers’ right to a jury trial, the FAIR Act also enables class-action lawsuits, which further incentivize corporations to avoid misdeeds that would result in costly litigation.     “I was proud to support this legislation today, and I thank Rep. Johnson for his leadership in introducing and championing it.  This builds on Rep. Bustos’s legislation, which we enacted last month on a bipartisan basis and is now law, to end forced arbitration in cases of sexual assault or harassment. House Democrats will continue to defend Americans from exploitation, protect their constitutional rights, and preserve their confidence in the promise of justice for all.”