Senator Franken offered and the Senate passed in a vote of 68-30 an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 to restrict funding to Department of Defense contractors who continue to use mandatory arbitration clauses that force sexual assault victims into arbitration.
The Franken Amendment No. 2588 sends a message to defense contractors that if they want to continue doing business with Uncle Sam, they need to stop the practice of requiring employees to sign contracts that purportedly waive all of their rights to bring a claim in court, even in the case of sexual assault.
Claims arising out of sexual assault, like assault & battery (including rape), intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, retention and supervision, do not belong in arbitration. Neither do Title VII civil rights claims, which were specifically designed to protect vulnerable groups in the workplace.
S. 2588 will not require contractors to change or modify existing employment contracts. It only bars funds to contractors who continue to use these mandatory arbitration clauses in their employment contracts.
Arbitration has its place in our justice system, but it has its limitations. Arbitration does not establish important precedent, arbitration is usually secret, arbitration never provides a jury of your peers, arbitrators are not trained to handle claims of sexual assault or civil rights violations, and arbitration is simply not the proper forum for sexual assault and civil rights claims.
Although this amendment passed, I think it is important to spotlight those Senators who voted against the rights of DoD contract employees. Especially those who are victims of rape. You can see the entire vote result HERE
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Is your Senator on here?
Ms Sparky
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- Gulf Coast Catering (GCC) employees not being paid
- The Pentagon takes a hard line on mandatory arbitration for crimes against contractor employees
- Defense contractors cringe at the thought the Pentagon will track the assault of their employees
- No Contractor Left Behind Part I: KBR, the Pentagon and the Soldiers Who Paid
- Hiding behind closed doors coming to an end for KBR and others
Not ONE Federal Official from Arkansas is on this list ???? From either party !!!!!
Ms Sparky’s Response:
Both Senators voted Yes (Yea)
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea
All Dissenting votes are White, Old, Republicans.
Haven’t they destroyed America enough?
Update Oct. 10, 2009
The Representatives and the Nay Votes listed below were prior to Sen. Al Franken’s amendment and the bill is now headed to a conference committee of senators and representatives to work out differences in the versions of the bill each chamber approved. The bill then goes to the President before becoming law.
On July 30, 2009 The House Voted
House Vote On Passage: H.R. 3326: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, passed with a vote of 400-30. The Representatives that voted against the rights of DoD Contractors were:
Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2]
Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]
Campbell, John [R-CA-48]
Duncan, John [R-TN-2]
Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5]
Filner, Bob [D-CA-51]
Flake, Jeff [R-AZ-6]
Frank, Barney [D-MA-4]
Griffith, Parker [D-AL-5]
Johnson, Timothy [R-IL-15]
Kucinich, Dennis [D-OH-10]
Lee, Barbara [D-CA-9]
Lewis, John [D-GA-5]
Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-16]
McDermott, James [D-WA-7]
Miller, George [D-CA-7]
Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
Paul, Ronald [R-TX-14]
Payne, Donald [D-NJ-10]
Royce, Edward [R-CA-40]
Schakowsky, Janice [D-IL-9]
Sensenbrenner, F. [R-WI-5]
Serrano, José [D-NY-16]
Speier, Jackie [D-CA-12]
Stark, Fortney [D-CA-13]
Tierney, John [D-MA-6]
Towns, Edolphus [D-NY-10]
Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35]
Watt, Melvin [D-NC-12]
Welch, Peter [D-VT-0]
The entire list Here
Here’s a great new video from Keith Olberman on the “Dirty 30″ whining about how the liberal blog-o-sphere is treating them after their “NO” vote.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukdG_3VnVq0
Does anyone know about the salary with DynCorp for Police Advisors in Iraq. I’m going through the application process and getting REALLY worried about everything I’m reading about them not paying employees and being honest.
Any info about DynCorp is greatly appreciated