Will There Ever Be Justice for Halliburton Rape Victim Jamie Leigh Jones?

Posted by Attaturk, Firedoglake at 8:40 AM on March 6, 2008.

A month ago, I wrote about a former female Halliburton/KBR employee who was forced to arbitrate a legal claim of sexual assault and sexual harassment that occurred in Iraq, rather than having a public trial before a jury.

Well, one month later, it may happen again:

In a federal lawsuit, Jamie Leigh Jones says she was drugged, raped and held against her will in a storage locker while working for KBR Inc., then a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., in 2005.

As part of her employment, Jones agreed to settle claims against the company in arbitration. But she never imagined such claims would include being imprisoned in a storage locker, said one of her attorneys, L. Todd Kelly.

Attorneys for Halliburton and KBR argued that the contract Jones signed binds her to settle all claims -- including claims of sexual assault -- against her former employer through arbitration.

Halliburton attorney W. Carl Jordan said that because the purported attack is said to have happened in Halliburton-provided barracks, it ties any claims Jones makes to her employment.

Can you imagine that last paragraph being explained in a company sexual harassment seminar?

"Now folks, we're not encouraging you to commit sexual assault but if you do, please have the deceny to do so on company premises"

Almost all of the millions of newly hired employees who have these arbitration agreements had them stuck under their noses on the first day they started their jobs. At a time they are most susceptible to pressure to sign off on unfavorable agreements. Quite often these clauses are buried within cumbersome 'employee handbooks' they get no substantial time to review. When that signature occurs, the employee has given over substantial control their Right for redressing wrongs to the party legally responsible should any wrong occur.

I would sure like to know what the three surviving Presidential candidates think of this. After all they represent three major categories of those who suffer discrimination in employment. But I guess that would require journalism that focuses on policies and ideology, as opposed to reporting the "horserace" or how they grilled food for their press corps buddies.

Once again, it's a great system for corporations -- recognized as a person under the law -- just like you. Only better.

Do our prospective Presidents agree?

Attaturk is a regular blogger for FireDogLake