May 21, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC—In a controversial 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today sided against workers and with powerful corporations. In Epic Systems v. Lewis et al., the high court today said it is okay for companies to require workers to sign forced arbitration clauses as a condition of employment. These clauses have the effect of nullifying the rights of workers to band together in class action suits when a company engages in systemic wrongdoing or breaks the law. Because the right to bring charges into a public court is waived by signing these clauses, allegations end up behind closed doors in secret proceedings where companies overwhelmingly win.

“This is a gift to America’s corporations and a disaster for workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Allowing companies to break the law and not have to worry about being held accountable creates a toxic work environment where wrongdoing runs rampant. We’ve seen it at Fox News, where Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly sexually harassed female employees for decades and *hid behind forced arbitration clauses. We’ve see it, too, at Sterling Jewelers, parent company to Jared and Kay Jewelers, which required employees to sign forced arbitration clauses and where more than *250 women allege rampant sexual harassment.”

Protecting corporate wrongdoing, whether it’s wage theft, discrimination, or sexual harassment, is bad policy and as history has proven, is ultimately bad for business. Companies like Microsoft understand that. “The silencing of people’s voices has clearly had an impact in perpetuating sexual harassment,” *Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer told the New York Times last year.

In *an op-ed article in the New York Times in October 2017, Gretchen Carlson, who was sexually harassed at Fox News when she was a reporter, wrote that “reforming arbitration laws is key to stopping sexual harassment.” As Carlson recently stated, “If a woman’s being sexually harassed in the workplace and she has an arbitration clause, she’s screwed.”

Few workers are able to take on their employer by themselves and risk termination, abuse, or worse. Few workers can afford to spend thousands of dollars to pursue an individual case. Collective and class actions exist for this very reason; so that regular people can pool their claims and get a lawyer to pursue their case.

An estimated 60.1 million workers in America – 56 percent of private-sector nonunion employees – have been subject to forced arbitration clauses, and of those, nearly one in three (30 percent) have lost the right to challenge wrongdoing through collective legal actions. If it is not already in place, today’s decision will mean that becomes standard employer practice. Sadly, with this decision the Supreme Court in Epic Systems v. Lewis et al. has given corporations the right to further tilt the legal system to their favor.

A spirited and lengthy dissent in Epic Systems, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer, called the decision “egregiously wrong,” a “destructive result,” and said, “the inevitable result of today’s decision will be the underenforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers.”

“We agree with Justice Ginsburg and her colleagues,” said NCL’s Greenberg. “Now we must demand from Congress a legislative solution that restores the fundamental right of workers – including women fighting sexual harassment – to band together.”

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings.

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

May 1, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC—The long-awaited requirement that all cars have rear backup cameras—a standard issued in 2014—went into effect today. The National Consumers League has issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

Although we were disappointed to have to wait until 2018, we welcome this safety breakthrough; consumers like and appreciate the myriad safety advantages that backup cameras provide. We are pleased that as of today, all newly-manufactured vehicles be will be equipped with a rearview backup camera.

We are particularly pleased that no longer will consumers need to pay for a rearview camera as an expensive option. These cameras improve rear visibility for drivers and will prevent needless deaths and injuries. The regulation advances the safety of everyone on the road, most importantly children, pedestrians, bicyclists, and pets. Backup camera requirements are part of a long list of safety requirements advocated for by consumers and safety groups, including airbags to protect occupants in a crash; electronic stability control (ESC); stronger roof crush requirements; and, ejection and side impact protection, among others. Safety standards mean that everyone, not just those who purchase luxury vehicles with built-in safety, is protected, from the buyer of the smallest and least expensive vehicle to the highest end. The cost of safety technologies quickly drops when they are made standard, so it’s a win-win: lives saved for less expense.

Among those who championed the original legislation mandating rear cameras were Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John Sununu (R-NH); Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL); the numerous Senate and House cosponsors; KidsAndCars.org led by Advocates’ Consumer Co-Chair Janette Fennell; Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen and numerous public health, consumer, and safety organizations. 

“We must thank those courageous families who suffered the unthinkable loss of their children in preventable backover incidents and pressed for government action. Enactment of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act in 2008 (Pub. Law 110-189), mandating the U.S. DOT to issue a standard, was a testament to what can be accomplished with bipartisanship leadership and citizens activating to motivate change and save lives,” said Greenberg.

Every year on average more than 200 people are killed and over 12,000 more are injured in backover crashes, according to the U.S. DOT. Over half of those killed are children under age five or adults 70 or older (U.S. DOT). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has determined that rearview cameras have already reduced backing crashes by 17 percent, and for drivers 70 and older, backing crashes went down by 40 percent. Moreover, rearview cameras can be expected to prevent nearly one in six police-reported backing crashes.

“We celebrate all those who worked so hard for so many years to put this standard into place and applaud the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for implementing the final rule,” said Greenberg.

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

April 25, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC – Today the National Consumers League issued a statement on the rash of E. coli O157:H7 reports to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)–53 total; 31 of which have resulted in hospitalization. Because officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been unable to identify a specific source – either a brand, supplier, distributer, or producer — no recalls have been issued, and the consumer group called on regulators to step up their investigation.

This statement is attributed to Sally Greenberg, NCL’s Executive Director:

“The National Consumers League urges federal regulators and public health agencies to continue working together to identify and invest in upgraded pathogen tracing systems. This outbreak spans a large geographical area, infecting consumers in at least 16 states, requiring local, state, and federal investigators to share data as quickly as possible. In fact, new food safety standards were supposed to be in place by now under federal law and regulations, but the progress has slowed to a halt. With innovative biotechnology firms and emerging surveillance technology, the means for preventing this kind of contamination should be firmly in place by now. We urge policy makers to work together more efficiently to protect consumers and ensure the safety of our food supply.”

In 2011, the CDC, FDA, and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the *Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration to pursue shared food safety goals.

NCL joins CDC and FDA in urging consumers to throw away any eaten or uneaten romaine lettuce products.

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings.

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

April 23, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Mignon Clyburn has announced her plans to step down from the FCC. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League.

“NCL wishes to thank Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for an illustrious career as a telecom expert and advocate for consumers and the disenfranchised. Throughout her tenure at the FCC, Commissioner Clyburn challenged the unfair practice of charging inflated phone rates for the incarcerated who wish to call their families. She was a leader in the fight to protect the Internet for future generations by advocating for the passage and protection of net neutrality rules. As commissioner, Clyburn was known for her efforts to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunity and access to commerce through the expansion of the Lifeline program. In 2012, we were honored to be able to recognize Commissioner Clyburn’s advocacy with NCL’s Trumpeter Award and thank her for her service.”

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.