In 2016, Gretchen Carlson found herself at the center of a legal storm that would reshape her career and ignite a national conversation. The veteran journalist, who had spent 11 years as a prominent face on Fox News, was barred from suing her employer for alleged sexual harassment due to a forced arbitration clause in her contract. Undeterred, Carlson employed a strategic legal maneuver, filing a lawsuit against then-CEO Roger Ailes personally, thrusting workplace harassment and the mechanisms that keep such incidents private into the spotlight. The case was settled for a reported $20 million, with Fox News issuing a public apology to Carlson.
This experience catapulted Carlson into an unexpected role as a workplace equality advocate, focusing on combating forced arbitration and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). “I had no idea what forced arbitration was,” she admits in our recent interview. “Most people don’t.” Yet these clauses have become ubiquitous in American employment contracts, rising from just 2% of workers in 1991 to a staggering 84% today.
The implications of forced arbitration are far-reaching and troubling. These clauses effectively bar employees from taking their cases to court, even when faced with substantial evidence of misconduct. Instead, workers are funneled into private arbitration processes where, as Carlson points out, “they only win 2.5% of the time, and the process is secret.” This system disproportionately impacts underrepresented communities, low-income workers, and women, with women of color in minimum wage jobs being the most likely to be silenced. Research underscores the disparity, showing that employees in arbitration win only about a fifth as often as those who can take their cases to court.
Confronted with this stark reality, Carlson embarked on a mission to overhaul the system. Her efforts culminated in the passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act in 2022. This bipartisan victory, which Carlson describes as “our two biggest labor law changes in the last 100 years,” prohibits the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in cases of sexual assault or harassment. The landmark legislation gives millions of workers the right to take their cases to court, marking a significant step towards workplace equality.
Carlson is tackling this issue on multiple fronts: legislatively, engaging corporations, and through public education. In 2019, she founded Lift Our Voices, a non-profit dedicated to research and education around workplace equality and transparency. The organization recently released a research report revealing that 89% of American workers believe forced arbitration should be illegal. They are also developing a corporate rating system to evaluate the top 3,000 public companies in America on their use of these practices, aiming to create transparency and incentivize change.
Carlson’s next target is age discrimination. The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, which she supports, aims to eliminate forced arbitration for age discrimination cases. This bill, currently moving through the Senate, would protect workers over 40 – a demographic that encompasses the majority of Americans’ working years.
On driving change, Carlson reflects, “You can’t shortchange people. We always hear, don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s really true, and especially when you’re dealing with members of Congress and you need an exact number of votes to put you over the top. You don’t want to discredit anyone that you think might be your foe.”
Despite her successes, Carlson acknowledges the ongoing challenges in keeping media attention on these complex issues. Yet she remains undeterred, leveraging her media savvy to emphasize personal stories that make forced arbitration and NDAs relatable and urgent.
“I may never own my own voice,” Carlson reflects, referencing her own “incredibly onerous NDA” following her Fox News settlement. “But I still have power to make sure that other people do.” Her advice to workers facing new contracts: “Read everything carefully, and if you see a forced arbitration clause, try to negotiate it out. If that’s not possible, at least you’ll be aware of what you’re signing.”
Watch more interviews in the Power Women Profiles series here.