United Liberty

Last week, an amendment to the Defense appropriations bill, sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was brought to the floor of the Senate that would have cutoff government funds for contractors that prevent, in whatever way, their employees from filing sexual harassment lawsuits. The reasoning behind the amendment can be traced to the story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who was brutally raped by co-workers and locked in a container under armed guard on order of her employer, KBR.

The wording of the amendment read:

Sec. 8104. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any existing or new Federal contract if the contractor or a subcontractor at any tier requires that an employee or independent contractor, as a condition of employment, sign a contract that mandates that the employee or independent contractor performing work under the contract or subcontract resolve through arbitration any claim under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.

(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply with respect to employment contracts that may not be enforced in a court of the United States.

Despite the reasoning behind the amendment, 30 Republicans voted against it.

The Heritage Foundation says the amendment should have been voted down because trail lawyers stand to benefit, pointing out that arbitration is the way to go. Heritage fails to mention that arbitration was required under Jamie Leigh Jones’ contract with KBR. It did her little good.

I’m willing for someone to prove me wrong on this, but I cannot understand why 30 Republicans would vote against cutting off funding for behavior being conducted by firms benefiting from taxpayer dollars.