Equifax proves case against forced arbitration

By David Dayen, The Intercept - EQUIFAX, THE CREDIT REPORTING BUREAU that on Thursday admitted one of the largest data breaches in history, affecting 143 million U.S. consumers, is maneuvering to prevent victims from banding together to sue the company, according to consumer protection advocates and elected officials.Equifax is offering all those affected by the breach a free, one-year credit monitoring service called TrustedID Premier, which will watch credit reports for suspicious activity, lock and unlock Equifax credit reports, scan the internet for Social Security numbers, and add insurance for identity theft. But the service includes a forced arbitration clause, which pushes all disputes over the monitoring out of court. It also includes a waiver of the right to enter into a class-action lawsuit.This shields TrustedID Premier from legal exposure, instead relying on a process that’s very favorable to corporate interests. At first the arbitration clause was a non-negotiable feature of the contract. Now Equifax says you can opt out, but only if you contact them in writing within 30 days.There’s already a proposed class-action suit against Equifax itself, arguing that the company failed to protect consumer data and exposed hundreds of millions to identity theft. But if you can’t...

Donald Trump, the FBI and pretext

President Donald Trump's recent termination of FBI Director James Comey belongs in a textbook on employment discrimination. It shows the way employers can get into legal trouble when firing an employee. It is such a textbook example of a "bad termination," in fact, that an employer seeking to minimize its exposure to a termination-related lawsuit would do well to look at the President's handling of the Comey termination, and do exactly the opposite. The issue we examine today is whether the President's stated reason for firing Director Comey - Comey's alleged mishandling of the Clinton emails - is unworthy of credence and a pretext for some other motive.Comey's investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails took place and was complete before Trump was elected President. To the extent Comey mishandled anything, Trump clearly knew about it on the first day he took office. Yet, he waited 108 days to fire him. Just a few days before his termination, Comey asked the Deputy Attorney General for additional resources to investigate Trump's Russia connections. Trump, it turns out, also asked the Deputy Attorney General to draft the memo that Trump cited in his termination letter to Comey, without telling the DAG the memo would be...

Mayor Bill Peduto shows courage and leadership

One of the many reasons I strongly support Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is because of his political courage and willingness to do what is right.  I take the liberty of re-posting Mayor Peduto's full Statement in Response to President Trump's Executive Orders Regarding Immigration: "The residents of Pittsburgh stand tonight with cities all across our nation. Pittsburgh was built by immigrants, who came to our city to find work in our steel mills and who forged a better life for their families. Like my grandparents, they came to America for opportunity, and they built America. We stand on their shoulders, and we owe it to them to preserve opportunities for current and future generations. Just as our past was built by immigrants, so too will be our future. Let's be clear: the President's executive order will not make us safer. It will not advance the principles upon which our nation and our cities were founded. It will further divide us as a city and as a nation. Pittsburgh joins tonight with other cities across the country and we stand ready to fight this unprecedented and this unconstitutional act. We will resist, with all powers at our disposal, any attempt to commandeer...