Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has joined AGs from every other state, U.S. territory and the District of Columbia in signing a letter on Monday asking Congress to pass legislation to increase workplace protections for victims of sexual harassment, Governing magazine reports.
The AGs specifically want to prevent employers from drafting arbitration agreements that force sexual harassment claims to be resolved outside of court.
“Access to the judicial system, whether federal or state, is a fundamental right of all Americans. That right should extend fully to persons who have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace,” the letter reads. “Yet, many employers require their employees, as a condition of employment, to sign arbitration agreements mandating that sexual harassment claims be resolved through arbitration instead of judicial proceedings.”
Victims should be able to pursue justice and obtain appropriate relief free from the impediment of arbitration requirements, the AGs say.
Governing reports the letter is a somewhat rare effort of bipartisanship at a time when most lawsuits that state AGs file only gather support from their own party.
