Consumer & Employee Dispute Resolution Fairness Act Passes Senate!

Denver, CO – Today the Senate took an important step toward increasing transparency for Colorado consumers and employees with the passage of SB-093!

“Forced arbitration clauses dominate so many goods and services, and they often tip the scales in favor of corporations," said Sen. Mike Foote. "These clauses can really do a disservice to consumers and employees, and this bill simply aims to make the process more fair and transparent for Coloradans.”

In the last 20 years, the number of workers in arbitration clauses has more than doubled. After Wells Fargo manipulated consumers with fake accounts, forced arbitration clauses prevented over 64,000 Coloradans from seeking justice in a class action suit. Millions of workers and consumers are forced into these clauses with little ability to defend themselves against corporations with endless resources.

"Coloradans deserve a fair process in arbitration disputes, but they haven’t been receiving one: Banks and lenders use forced arbitration clauses in loans issued to the more than 48,000 active-duty service members, reservists, and veterans in Colorado. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also found that 85% of private student loans studied were subject to these unfair terms," said Majority Leader Steve Fenberg. "It is time that Colorado reformed forced arbitration. With Senate Bill 93 passing the Senate, we are one step closer to ensuring all Coloradans receive a transparent and fair process during these proceedings."

The Consumer And Employee Dispute Resolution Fairness Act addresses the need for ethics, fairness and transparency in arbitration and other agreements so everyday consumers and employees have an equal opportunity for justice.
SB-093 would:

• Establish ethics and conflicts of interest standards for arbitrators similar to those followed by judges and others in the legal profession to prevent bias and discrimination

• Create basic public transparency requirements for arbitrators so consumers, employees and the public are able to identify bad behavior and prevent corporate concealment

• Addresses unenforceable terms that discourage people from bringing their claim forward, such as forcing out-of-state arbitration and waiving rights under other areas of law

The bill now heads to the House. Read more here: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb20-093