Trial Magazine

Corporations often treat workers as a mere commodity in a pecking order that inevitably places profits before people. AAJ strongly opposes this paradigm: We fight to build a world where access to justice is a right for all, not a privilege reserved for powerful interests.

Being a member of a law firm that represents victims of workplace injuries due to product failures and employment law violations, I understand the critical importance of protecting workers—so many abuses of their rights go unnoticed or unaddressed.

Some employers use every trick to avoid justice, including forced arbitration—a direct assault on our clients’ rights. Forced arbitration clauses are an affront to human dignity, resulting in victims of sexual harassment and assault, racial discrimination, and wage theft being unable to hold employers accountable in court.

Listen to stories of real people who’ve been devastated by forced arbitration at www.facesofforcedarbitration.com. Hear from a Chipotle worker seeking to recover lost wages through a class action, an employee who was fired for reporting racial discrimination, a U.S. Navy reservist who was terminated upon deployment to Afghanistan, and many more. You can also read AAJ’s report on how this practice disproportionately harms women and people of color in the workplace at www.justice.org/forcedarbitration.

AAJ made great progress in the last Congress supporting the passage of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. With the bill’s reintroduction in 2021, AAJ will not rest until our clients’ rights are restored. AAJ is also seeking bipartisan support for issue-specific bills that would prohibit forced arbitration in cases involving servicemembers, sexual assault and harassment, and nursing homes. Being able to hold employers accountable means justice for workers today and protection for workers tomorrow.

Workers face other challenges every day that threaten their rights and ability to earn a living. In this month’s issue of Trial, read about remedying worker misclassification (p. 18); trial tips for retaliation and discrimination claims (p. 26); overcoming nondisclosure and noncooperation agreements (p. 32); and state efforts to undermine worker safety during the pandemic (p. 44).

If you have an employment law practice, I encourage you to join AAJ’s Employment Rights Section, which concentrates on all aspects of employment and labor law.

I also urge employment and workers’ compensation lawyers to join our Products Liability Section—one area often overlooked is how workers can be harmed by defective and dangerous products (www.justice.org/sections). While workers’ comp claims assist with a recovery for injured or deceased workers and their families, a defective machine is often the underlying culprit. The Section covers all product defects including those involving factory equipment, forklifts, machinery, farm equipment, and more. Section members also receive a subscription to the print and electronic Products Liability Law Reporter. And, AAJ’s Litigation Packets related to employment rights offer sample documents, deposition transcripts, and more.

A quote attributed to Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher from the sixth century BCE, says that “Laws are spiderwebs, which catch the little flies but cannot hold the big ones.” This worldview may seem cynical, but too often it holds true today—with powerful corporations finding loopholes in the system while those who have been harmed by their misconduct or negligence become mired in it.

That is why the role of AAJ and our members is so critical. We hold the big flies accountable—providing a counterbalance so that our clients can fight back.

Navan Ward Jr. is a principal at Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles in Atlanta and can be reached at navan.ward@justice.org.