Hoping to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, members of Congress have introduced a bill that would allow victims to take their cases to court.
It's called the "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act," and one of the lead sponsors is U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, from the 17th Illinois Congressional District.
During a news conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Bustos said 60 million Americans have contracts with forced-arbitration clauses, but this bill would give them the option of going to court.
"We know there are many good companies out there, and they have nothing to fear in this,” Bustos said, “but to the CEOs and managers who think that every day in the workplace ought to be like an episode of ‘Mad Men,’ we've got a message for you: Stop it, and stop it now.”
To end sexual harassment in the workplace, Bustos says legal protections for harassers have to be eliminated.
Co-sponsors of the bipartisan bill include both men and women senators and representatives.
