Sex Assault Suit Vs. Halliburton Killed

[Barrett808]

Source: ABC

Sex Assault Suit Vs. Halliburton Killed
By MADDY SAUER and JUSTIN ROOD
Feb. 6, 2008

A mother of five who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq is headed for a secretive arbitration process rather than being able to present her case in open court.

A judge in Texas has ruled that Tracy Barker's case will be heard in arbitration, according to the terms of her initial employment contract.

Barker says that while in Iraq she was constantly propositioned by her superior, threatened and isolated after she reported an incident of sexual assault.

Barker's attorneys had argued that Halliburton/KBR had created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at their camps and that sort of condition is not the type of dispute that she could have expected to be within the scope of an arbitration provision.

District Judge Gray Miller, however, wrote in his order that "whether it is wise to send this type of claim to arbitration is not a question for this court to decide."

"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4249898&page=1

[flvegan]

1. If/when arbitration fails...make a big f'ing case out of it.

I think that Judge Miller's statement is the saddest thing I've read in a while. Sexual assault should NEVER be an accepted "reality in today's workplace" unless a steel-toed boot to the nads is also an accepted reality in response to said sexual assault.

Just sayin'...

[Triana]

5. Jesus H. Friggin...

...sexual assault is just "reality" eh?

So we should just accept it and let it go?

I DON'T THINK SO!

UNfuckingbelievable that a JUDGE would say this. Good GOD the misogynism in this society is appalling.

What the HELL is this, Afghanistan?

[thunder rising]

2. Lawsuits always go to mediation ... it's the process.

[wtmusic]

9. No, it's not "the process"

this is mandatory binding arbitration, not mediation.

She must honor the ruling of an arbitration panel and essentially give up her Constitutional rights:

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/10/how-arbitration.html

[xxqqqzme]

15. maybe in your world...but

always is a big concept. I've been around plenty of litigation and mediation is ONLY part of the process when both parties agree to it (or it is included in terms & conditions of a contract.)

[gateley]

3. What fucking YEAR is this??!?

"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."

That is shameful!

[ladywnch]

4. what he really said was

"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."


And even more sadly, I'm not going to do anything to stop or punish it........

[TheWraith]

10. In fairness, the judge is saying it's not within the court's discretion, because of her contract.

Her employment contract stipulated arbitration for any disputes. It's BS, but until and unless a higher court rules arbitration clauses as being unconstitutional, lower courts don't have the discretion to overrule the legal contracts.

[xxqqqzme]

16. I would not classify

'sexual harassment' as a dispute. I believe that is a violation of the law.

[Lugnut]

6. A reality?

:wtf:

[orleans]

7. FUCK THAT!

OUT OF THE CLOSET AND INTO THE LIGHT!

[wtmusic]

8. ALWAYS draw an "X" through a mandatory arbitration clause

in any contract:

"If I told you there was a courtroom in America where consumers lose lawsuits to businesses 94 percent of the time, and there is no chance to appeal, you'd probably never want to go there.

But here's the problem: You don't have a choice, thanks to small print.

While you may have never heard of binding mandatory arbitration, it is part of nearly every significant transaction you engage in now. It's also become a controversial battleground over consumer protection in America, and on Thursday Congress held hearings debating legislation that would largely nullify many arbitration agreements. The hearing came on the heels of a new report that claims to offer a first-ever glimpse into a world that some say has turned Americans’ Constitutional rights on their head."

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/10/how-arbitration.html

[TheWraith]

11. Bingo. Arbitration = bad.

The company has all of the advantages, including the fact that you are obligated to abide by whatever the arbiter who THEY hired decides.

[wtmusic]

12. Russ Feingold is on this (who else?)

He introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007

"A large and growing number of corporations now require millions of consumers and employees to sign contracts that include mandatory arbitration clauses. Most of these individuals have little or no meaningful opportunity to negotiate the terms of their contracts and so find themselves having to choose either to accept a mandatory arbitration clause or to forgo securing employment or needed goods and services. Incredibly, mandatory arbitration clauses also apply when individuals are trying to vindicate their civil rights under statutes specifically passed by Congress to protect them."

http://feingold.senate.gov/issues_arbitration.html

[salin]

17. insult to injury - KBR tried to force *her* to pay their legal costs

Halliburton and KBR had also sought to have Barker pay for their costs of defending their right to arbitrate. That request was denied.

Our tax dollars (through no-bid contracts) at work...

[ChicagoRonin]

13. Any of the candidates know/talking about this?

Not that she should be particularly pidgeon-holed, but it seems to me that Hillary should take special interest in a case involving a woman trying to work in a male-dominated environment.

Anyway else feel this way?

[MidwestTransplant]

14. The Texas judicial system is notoriously corrupt. I wonder how much HAL or KBR gave to his campaign

[wtmusic]

18. Not Texas -- SCOTUS created this monster in 2001

with their ruling in CIRCUIT CITY STORES, INC. v. ADAMS:

"A provision in respondent’s application for work at petitioner electronics retailer required all employment disputes to be settled by arbitration. After he was hired, respondent filed a state-law employment discrimination action against petitioner, which then sued in federal court to enjoin the state-court action and to compel arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The District Court entered the requested order. The Ninth Circuit reversed, interpreting §1 of the FAA–which excludes from that Act’s coverage “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce”–to exempt all employment contracts from the FAA’s reach."

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-1379.ZS.html

[Deny and Shred]

19. A nation of laws, or fine print?

Even the most conservative Joe 6-Pack can see sexual assuault by one's boss and his pals as a crime. Can somebody get all the Christian Conservatives to respond as to why the fine print of her contract should trump rape? This is another example of Bush's Christian values being completely hollow.
This sounds too much like the Reich's People's Court - a forum specifically designed to promote the status quo, to send the message to the people not to challenge authority, and to provide immunity for state-sanctioned crimes. HAL and KBR are not the state, but they are subcontractors of the US government with deep ties to the Administration.
Any Reichpublican who wants to challenge Feingold's bill should have to answer questions about every aspect of this unfortunate woman's case.
I'm sure these types of Iraq assignments will see a 'surge' in recruitment knowing this kind of treatment is in store.