@Denis227
Ok, firstly - Airbnb's arbitration and class action waiver clauses, in relation to the US.
Probably the most high-profile instance of a member (unsuccessfully) challenging these clauses was the 2016 case of Gregory Selden, who attempted to create a class action case against Airbnb, on the grounds of discrimination. Note: at the very same time as Airbnb were forcing all hosts to sign their shiny new Non-Discrimination Charter, and were loudly and proudly briefing the world's media on how inclusive, diverse and welcoming their platform truly is, the company was simultaneously moving heaven and earth to deny Mr Selden his right to a fair hearing in court (despite the fact that he had solid evidence to suggest that he had indeed been a victim of discrimination on the Airbnb platform)
Federal Judge Upholds Airbnb Arbitration Clause In Racial Bias Case
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/11/02/431272.htm
In May 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that companies could continue to use arbitration clauses, causing Brian T Fitzpatrick, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, and an expert in arbitration and class action to state...
"It is only a matter of time until the most powerful device to hold corporations accountable for their misdeeds is lost altogether.”
Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration Contacts Barring Class Actions
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/business/supreme-court-upholds-workplace-arbitration-contracts.ht...
Then on 1 November 2018, thousands of Google employees staged a mass walkout demanding the company overhaul its policies for handling workplace sexual harassment following several high-profile scandals. A week later, the company bowed to demands and vowed to end its practice of mandatory arbitration in relation to such issues. In the following days, Facebook, eBay and Airbnb followed suit, after coming under increasing pressure from a number of interested parties, and facing a backlash on social media. Airbnb stated that it would now allow employees to take class action lawsuits, on the grounds of sexual harassment and discrimination, but guests and hosts would still be bound by arbitration.
Big Tech and Big Law Face Pushback on Mandatory Arbitration In Wake Of #MeToo
https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=41ff179d-4257-4ff0-a012-a6adfdc996f8
However, the battle to outlaw forced arbitration continues, on the grounds that private arbitration allows companies to hide misconduct that would otherwise be made public in court; arbitrators are much more likely than jurors to rule in favour of employers; and arbitrators are far less likely than jurors to give adequate monetary awards to workers/consumers when they find a company at fault for breaking the law.
Last year, Vox analyzed the data published by the American Arbitration Association, the largest arbitration organization in the US - and Airbnb's arbitration firm of choice - which handles about 50 percent of all employment cases. The data showed that the firm handled 8,209 complaints filed by employees bound by mandatory arbitration agreements between 2013 and 2017, arbitrators awarded monetary damages to the workers in only 1.8 percent of those cases.
Things are definitely looking up though. On September 20th of this year (2019), lawmakers in the US voted 225-186 to pass the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, a far-reaching bill that bans companies from requiring workers and consumers to resolve legal disputes in private arbitration — regarded by many as a quasi-legal forum with no judge, no jury, and practically no government oversight. While the bill is widely expected to face resistance from Republicans in the Senate, the fact that it even made it through the House (after a similar bill failed just a year ago), signals a long-overdue change in attitude to both employee and consumer rights, when dealing with big corporations. At the very least, it's a major step in the right direction..
The FAIR Act Would Ban Forced Arbitration. That's A Big Deal.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/20/20872195/forced-mandatory-arbitration-bill-fair-act