KBR Gang-Rape Case

... makes it to court. KBR had sought to force Jamie Leigh Jones' case into into arbitration, but a Texas judge ruled that the charges of sexual assault, rape, battery, and false imprisonment were actually serious enough to warrant a real trial. ABC News noted that there was, however, one exception:

Ellison did, however, rule that a sexual harassment claim that Jones included in her case against her supervisor in Texas would have to be decided in arbitration.

More on KBR, from Think Progress:

"KBR Ignored Warnings Of Unsafe Electrical Wiring That Led To Deaths Of U.S. Troops"

"Former KBR employees say workers stole from Iraq, ‘melted down gold to make spurs.’"

"Former Employee Says KBR Promoted Camp Manager After She Was Caught Stealing"

"KBR Dodges $500 Million In Social Security And Medicare Taxes In Cheney-Backed Scheme"

"Latest KBR scandal: contractors accused of sexual harrassment at British Embassy in Iraq."

"Pentagon Dismisses KBR Contaminated Water: Troops Should ‘Just Drink Bottled Water’"

"Rep. Poe: KBR Gang Rape Was Not ‘An Isolated Case Of Sexual Assault’"


More on the rape stories here.

Another KBR Rape Story

The Nation is reporting that another KBR employee has said she was raped while working for the company in Iraq in January of 2008. In December of 2007, ABC News ran a story about Jamie Leigh Jones, who says she was "gang-raped" by Halliburton/KBR co-workers while in Baghdad. Since then, eleven other women have come forward to say they were assaulted.

In the Jamie Leigh Jones story, ABC news reported that she was "raped by multiple men at a KBR camp," and that, "Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave." Jones also says that she was threatened by her employers and told not to come forward with her story. Furthermore, Jones and the other victims may be forced to settle their claims through arbitration.

According to ABC News:

KBR has moved for Jones' claim to be heard in private arbitration, instead of a public courtroom. It says her employment contract requires it.

In arbitration, there is no public record nor transcript of the proceedings, meaning that Jones' claims would not be heard before a judge and jury. Rather, a private arbitrator would decide Jones' case. In recent testimony before Congress, employment lawyer Cathy Ventrell-Monsees said that Halliburton won more than 80 percent of arbitration proceedings brought against it.

From The Nation's article:

Likewise, the company is pressuring Lisa Smith into pursuing her claims against the company through its Dispute Resolution Program based on the contract she signed before she went to Iraq. Critics argue that the company's arbitration system allows it to minimize bad publicity and lets assailants off the hook.

Legal Wrongs

In a reccent Mother Jones article, Stephanie Mencimer details a disturbing trend that is threatening the rights of workers and consumers everywhere. Binding Mandatory Arbitration (BMA) clauses are designed to strip away a person's legal right to sue. Once an agreement is signed, the signatory is forced to settle any future disputes in front of an private arbitrator instead of a judge. Furthermore, with arbitration there are no appeals.

The following is an excerpt from Mencimer's article:

Fonza Luke had worked as a nurse for Baptist Health System's Princeton Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, for 26 years when the human resources department summoned her to a meeting about a new "dispute resolution program." Nurses, housekeepers, and lab techs crammed into a conference room where hospital administrators presented a form and told them to sign. Signing meant agreeing to submit any future employment-related complaints to an arbitrator hired by the hospital and waiving the right to sue in court. Refusing to sign meant they'd be fired.

Luke had known the arbitration agreement was coming, and she didn't like the idea one bit—"I just think it's unfair to be made to do something like that," she says. So before going to the conference room, she slipped away to a pay phone and called her lawyer. He said, "Don't sign it. You'll be signing your rights away," she recalls. Luke turned in the form without a signature in quiet protest. A few weeks later, the hospital again ordered her to sign, and again she refused. Despite repeated threats, the hospital didn't fire her, at least not then.

Three years later, Luke traveled to Atlanta for a continuing-education class recommended by her coworkers. When she returned, the hospital fired her for "insubordination" because she had been cleared to take just one day off, not two. For 30 years, Luke had been an exemplary employee. Her personnel file was full of praise for her performance; a review three weeks before the firing called her a "role model." Many of the younger, white nurses Luke worked with had taken unapproved leave, she observed, and kept their jobs. So Luke filed a race and age discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc), which conducted a lengthy investigation, upheld her complaint, and recommended that Luke file a civil rights suit in federal court, which she did in 2003.

That's when the surprise came: Baptist Health argued that Luke had given up her right to sue back in 1997 when the hospital presented the arbitration agreement—even though she'd refused to sign. Simply by continuing to show up for work, Baptist's lawyers said, she'd agreed to the terms. Acting contrary to established contract law, which requires both parties to consent to a contract before it becomes binding, a federal judge accepted the hospital's argument. Luke was forced to take her civil rights case before Baptist's hired arbitrator, who dismissed it in short order. She had no right to appeal. She'd lost not only her job but, because she hadn't yet reached retirement age, part of the pension she'd worked toward for most of her adult life. Now Luke works night shifts at two health care facilities to make up her lost salary.

For more information on binding mandatory arbitration, including how to protect yourself, as well as additional reports of victimization, visit:

People Over Profits

and

Give Me Back My Rights!