Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Cited in The Intercept

The 2017 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey was cited in an article by The Intercepttitled, “FINRA’s Black Hole,” about the uphill battle women on Wall Street face when bringing harassment claims to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

In the past three decades, 97 women filed hostile workplace or sexual harassment claims or counterclaims that reached a decision with FINRA, but only 17 received an award from the oversight body related specifically to their harassment.

Professionals in the labor and employment field say that the organization’s requirement to resolve employee disputes through arbitration may be part of the reason why women don’t feel comfortable coming forward with their grievances, and don’t obtain victories if they do.

The article referenced the survey’s findings on arbitration clauses, saying “the law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt published a survey of 373 companies last year showing that 30 percent had arbitration clauses that precluded class actions, up from 16 percent in 2012 — the year after a key Supreme Court ruling that made it easier for companies to thwart class-action suits.”

Read the article.