Senate Bill S8481

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8481

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting
transportation network companies from including mandatory arbitration
clauses in user agreements for certain offenses

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit Transportation Network Companies (TNC) from including manda-
tory arbitration clauses in user agreements for sexual and other
assaults.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Adds new subdivision 10 to section 1692 of the vehicle and
traffic law to prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses in Transportation
Network Companies (such as Uber, Lyft) user agreements for assault and
sexual offenses.
              

Section 2: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The proliferation of arbitration clauses applying to a wide range of
consumer's interactions with the corporate world has created a system of
denying New York residents due process in our court system.

Most recently, consumers are using mobile applications without fully
understanding the "user agreements" and the legal language that deprives
them of using our court systems and their Constitutional right to due
process. Most recently federal courts have ruled that "arbitration
clauses" are permissible. Yet the arbitration process is a one-sided
process paid for by the same company that the consumer has had a prob-
lem.

The most serious of these problems is discrimination, harassment and
sexual assault. The use of the arbitration process to adjudicate a crim-
inal charge is not what our Constitution had intended. Yet this partic-
ular situation is now the focus of victims of sexual violence who have
used mobile application transportation network companies like Uber and
Lyft.

This legislation will prohibit the use of an arbitration clause for
charges of assault and sexual assault against operators participating in
the mobile application transportation networks or Transportation Network
Companies (TNCs) as they are defined in law.

It is worth repeating that consumers are not fully understanding or even
reading the "user agreements" that they have rushed to accept in the
process of launching an application such as the Uber and Lyft user
agreements that deny them the right to sue in court. When it comes to
acts of violence against consumers, there should be no tolerance for
these types of corporate attempts to cover up the crimes of those
participating in their networks and most definitely not to deprive Amer-
icans of their Constitution right to due process in a court of law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None, this is new legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately