Mandatory arbitration agreements have become increasingly common, and research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that over 55 percent of all workers are subject to mandatory arbitration requirements and 30 percent of employers that require mandatory arbitration also include class action waivers.
Congressman Bobby Scott
May 23, 2018
A 2017 study by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that 56% of nonunion private-sector employees in the U.S., about 60 million workers, are subject to mandatory arbitration procedures, and 23%, almost 25 million workers, are barred from joining class-action suits. Less than 10% of employers requiredarbitration in the 1990s, it added.
Labor Press
May 23, 2018
Employees are far less likely to win their cases in mandatory arbitration than in the courts, according to a report by the labor-friendly Economic Policy Institute.
New York Daily News
May 23, 2018
According to the Economic Policy Institute, mandatory arbitration prevents nearly 30 million women from suing their employers over harassment. Attorney Debra Katz says,
National Organization for Women
May 23, 2018
A few weeks ago I suggested that the gig economy still didn’t seem like a very big deal. I based this on the fact that the share of part-time workers isn’t growing, which you’d expect to see if gig work is becoming more common. That’s a crude but fairly effective metric, but I promised to post better evidence if anything came my way.
Now it has. In a new report, Larry Mishel of EPI refers to previous estimates that the gig economy accounts for somewhere between ½-1 percent of the total economy. That’s pretty small, but when you account for total hours worked by typical gig workers it becomes even smaller: (whole story)
Mother Jones
May 23, 2018
The nation is making progress toward full employment, according to recent data, but don’t credit the so-called gig economy. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows the impact of tech companies such as Uber has been overrated. Lawrence Mishel, a distinguished fellow with the Institute, said widely publicized hourly earnings for Uber drivers frequently leave out expenses the independent contractors have to cover, including more than 30 percent in fees the company takes off the top, health insurance premiums, and significant wear and tear on their vehicles.
Public News Service
May 23, 2018
A study by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute shows that 56 percent of nonunion private-sector employees are currently subject to mandatory individual arbitration procedures under the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, which allows employers to bar collective legal actions by employees. The court’s decision means that tens of millions of private nonunion employees will be barred from suing collectively over the terms of their employment.
NPR
May 22, 2018
Arbitration clauses in contracts between both consumers and companies and employers and employees, once almost unheard of, have multiplied over the past several decades. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, last year more than 50 percent of private-sector, non-union employers demanded that would-be employees agree to arbitration in the event of a dispute. Just shy of a third also insisted that their workers agree to surrender the right to join a class-action lawsuit.
The Washington Post
May 22, 2018
According to a September survey by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, mandatory arbitration clauses of one kind or another have been imposed on more than half of all U.S. workers. About one-third of all businesses that impose mandatory arbitration clauses specifically forbid class-action lawsuits, the survey found.
Politico
May 22, 2018
Right now, about 60 million workers have already signed away their right to go to court by agreeing to arbitrate disputes with their employers, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis released last year. About 30 percent of those workers have also signed the kind of class-action waivers that were at issue in this decision.
The Huffington Post
May 22, 2018