Federal Daily Action – Friday, January 5, 2018
The Call or RESISTBOT– PROTECT THE RIGHT TO FIGHT WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Over the past few months, Americans have been inundated with stories of how high-profile men have used their positions of power to sexually harass and assault others (primarily women). Sexual assault and harassment allegations have been levied against men in virtually every industry, sweeping up chefs, journalists, famous actors, political representatives, business leaders, and others. This massive outpouring of allegations – and businesses’ unprecedented willingness to take them seriously – is creating a cultural shift in holding harassers accountable for their actions. The long-overdue acknowledgment of the rampant nature of sexual harassment represents an opportunity to enact laws to protect against sexual harassment in the workforce.
On December 6th, 2017 the bipartisan Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017 was introduced in both the House and the Senate. The bill would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts for sexual harassment and discrimination claims. Forced arbitration clauses are found in over 50% of American employment contracts and require employees to waive their rights to a jury trial and/or to speak publicly about an incident. Instead, the harassment victim is forced into private meetings, secret settlements, and obligatory non-disclosure agreements. Arbitration clauses clearly silence victims from coming forward and allow for harassment and assault to continue in the workplace. It is time to bring transparency to workplace sexual harassment claims and to grant victims the right to come forward publicly and in a court of law if they so choose.
Your Action
Call your three Members of Congress and urge them to
RESISTBOT: Text the word “resist” to 504-09. Follow the prompts to send your Members of Congress a fax. It’s easy. You enter your zip code and you are directed to your representatives.
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find
Rep. Ted Yoho
DC:202-225-5744
Orange Park: 904-276-9626
Rep. John Rutherford
DC 202-225-2501
Jacksonville 904-831-5205
Rep. Ron DeSantis
DC 202-225-2706
Palm Coast 386-302-0471
Rep. Al Lawson
DC 202-225-0123
Jacksonville: 904-354-1652
Sen Marco Rubio
DC 202-224-3041
JAX – 904-354-4300
Sen Bill Nelson
DC – 202-224-5274
JAX – 904-346-4500
Talking Points:
This is [NAME] and I’m a constituent in [ZIP].
I’m calling in support of [H.R. 4570 for House/S. 2203 for Senate], the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill is an important first step to ending sexual harassment in the workforce, and I urge [SEN/REP ____] to work to pass this important legislation.
Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]