What's happening
This bill prohibits ride-sharing companies from requiring mandatory arbitration for assault or sexual offense cases in user agreements.
Why it matters
Empowers victims to seek justice publicly. By banning mandatory arbitration for assault and sexual offense cases, the bill enables victims to pursue claims in court rather than being forced into private, often confidential, arbitration processes that can favor companies and limit transparency.
Holds ride-sharing companies more accountable. Eliminating arbitration clauses in these serious cases increases public scrutiny and legal risk for companies, incentivizing them to improve safety measures, driver screening, and response protocols.
Applies retroactively to existing users. The bill voids any current user agreements that include banned arbitration clauses and requires companies to issue new, compliant agreements within 14 days, ensuring immediate and widespread impact.
Addresses systemic barriers to reporting. By removing forced arbitration, survivors may be more willing to report incidents, knowing they have access to a public legal process, which could help identify repeat offenders and broader safety issues within the ride-sharing industry.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Forced Arbitration in Apps
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1770
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 16, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
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
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 1692 of the vehicle and traffic law is renumbered subdivision 11 and a new subdivision 10 is added to read as follows:
10. No TNC user agreement shall contain a mandatory arbitration clause for certain offenses including matters of assault pursuant to article one hundred twenty of the penal law or sexual offenses pursuant to article one hundred thirty of the penal law. Any user agreement issued prior to the effective date of this subdivision containing such clause shall be considered null and void and new user agreements without such clause shall be issued to such users within fourteen days of the effective date of this subdivision.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07186-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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
S.8481 of 2018, referred to transportation
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.