By Doug Cunningham
Untold numbers of American workers are facing an illegal, systematic imposition of forced arbitration "agreements" from employers that strip workers of their legal rights.
These are presented to workers as conditions of employment, and the practice is widespread. But these are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act.
Jennifer Fultz was fired from her job with Alorica (formerly Expert Global Solutions) for refusing to sign one of these illegal arbitration agreements.
She's fighting back with a labor attorney in a case filed with the National Labor Relations Board and she's determined to get justice.
And she's urging other workers who are confronted with these forced arbitration documents to fight back, too.
[Jennifer Fultz]: "If you are an employee and you feel that your rights are being violated don't hesitate to stand up. Don't hesitate to reach out an employment attorney or research what's going on within your district - what's legal and what's not legal.
And because I as an employee already had a sense of what was right and what was wrong, even though the job has fired me there is gonna be some type of justice that's going to happen. If you're an employee and you feel that your rights are gonna be violated, stand up."
Jennifer says she had thirty minutes to sign the illegal arbitration agreement before she was fired. A sudden choice between keeping her rights or keeping her job.
[Jennifer Fultz]: "Being a single mom of an eleven year old and having to make that decision of giving away my rights or keeping my job and staying hush-hush, it just felt wrong. I feel completely wounded by everything. I feel like they wronged me in so many ways - firing me because I was protecting my employment rights."
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