Federal News – Coalition Letter on Arbitration Legislation

The Greenville and Anderson Chambers of Commerce joined a coalition of business groups across the United States calling on Congress to reject efforts to dismantle the arbitration system. This Coalition letter was sent to members of Congress, opposing numerous bills attempting to prohibit arbitration and class action waiver provisions that have been introduced or proposed in the 118th Congress.

For nearly 100 years, arbitration has proven to be a far more effective way of resolving disputes for employees, employers, and consumers than pursing more costly litigation.  Arbitration costs consumers $225 or less to file a claim, and they don’t need to hire a lawyer.  Furthermore, employees pay the same amount to file an arbitration claim as they would to file a federal civil suit, but employees in arbitration typically have better outcomes all around: more likely to win, quicker resolutions, and higher monetary awards.  Despite the advantages of arbitration, we have seen dozens of anti-arbitration bills filed during the past two congresses.  These efforts, backed by the trial bar, range from broad, sweeping bills, such as the FAIR Act, to narrow, issue-specific bills that use groups or sensitive issues as a sympathetic cover to chip away at arbitration.  If successful, these legislative efforts would declare unenforceable potentially millions of arbitration provisions that allow for the orderly and economical resolution of disputes.

Click here to read the full letter.