FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2018
Contact: Steve Smith 510-326-4644
ssmith@calaborfed.org

Ruling Makes California’s AB 3080 Critical to Protecting Workers from Sexual Harassment, Other Abuses

Statement from California Labor Federation Executive-Secretary Treasurer Art Pulaski 

The Supreme Court of the United States today issued a decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that further puts justice on the job out of reach for millions of workers in California and across the country. By ruling that workers cannot engage in collective action to hold their employers accountable when an arbitration agreement is signed, the conservative majority of the Court essentially locked workers into a rigged system that the employer controls when workers’ wages are stolen, they’re sexually harassed or discriminated against or otherwise exploited. As disheartening as this decision is for workers, California is leading the way to shield working people from the devastating effects of forced arbitration. AB 3080 ensures that no one is forced to sign an arbitration agreement, waiving her rights, just to get a job.

This legislation, authored by Asm. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and sponsored by the California Labor Federation, is a last line of defense for workers given this terrible decision. We will work tirelessly to pass this legislation to inoculate workers from a corporate-rigged system that seeks to undo all the progress the labor movement and our allies have made over decades to protect the rights of working people.

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The California Labor Federation is made up of more than 1,200 unions, representing 2.1 million union members in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries.