Rep. Johnson weighs in on NYT Investigation: In Arbitration, ‘Beware the Fine Print’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Johnson issued the following statement on a media call while discussing The New York Times investigative series “Beware the Fine Print,” a three-part series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court:

The New York Times Part I: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice | Part II: In Arbitration, a ‘Privatization of the Justice System’ | Part III: to come

“This exhaustive and thoughtful series by The New York Times cataloguing the immense harms of forced arbitration should shake Congress into action.

“Through a well-documented pattern of exploitation, forced arbitration has whittled away at the vital statutory protections for countless workers and consumers against discrimination and predatory lending.

“As overwhelmingly and methodically documented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 748-page report, which was statutorily required by section 1028 of the Dodd Frank Act, forced arbitration restricts consumers’ relief for disputes by limiting class actions, and the vast majority of consumers don’t know that they are subject to arbitration agreements.

“This issue has long been of interest to me.

“Since 2007, I have championed The Arbitration Fairness Act, which would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases.

“Beyond comprehensive legislation to end forced arbitration, I am also working with agencies to end forced arbitration in specific areas.

“Earlier this year, I sent a House letter, signed by over 55 members of Congress, to the CFPB, calling for a strong rule prohibiting forced arbitration in consumer financial products and services. The Bureau has already found that forced arbitration clauses in financial services burden consumers. It is vital that the CFPB continue its important work through a rulemaking.

“Last month, I sent a letter to the Centers for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s (CMS) concerning its proposed rule to reform requirements for long-term care facilities, specifically calling for an end to forced arbitration in nursing home agreements. This letter, which was supported by dozens of my colleagues, noted that nursing-home residents stand to lose access to the courts for every conceivable injury that they could suffer at the hands of unscrupulous care givers and facility operators.

“It is critical that CMS rejects the well-documented harms associated with pre-dispute arbitration in favor of a final rule that empowers residents to arbitrate claims after they arise.

“I hope and expect that the important series in The New York Times is a wake-up call that forced arbitration isn’t voluntary, just, or fair.

“I will continue to fight to end forced arbitration, and I expect that this series provides the ammunition for millions of Americans to fight alongside me.”

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