WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Cheri Bustos’ virtual guests to Tuesday night’s State of the Uniion guests will be people who inspired legislation expected to be signed into law that will end “forced arbitration” when victims report sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.
One such victim is Andowah Newton, who still works for the company owning so-called luxury brands like Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, despite repeated sexual assault and harassment by another company official.
“Forced arbitration is an unconscionable device, that has been used to steal tens of millions of Americans’ voices, and deprive us of our basic Constitutional rights to seek full, public accountability for sexual harassment and assault,” said Newton, in a Zoom conference Tuesday hosted by Bustos prior to the address.
Tatiana Spottiswoode is a law student who was assaulted during her time working at a call center technology company, and testified at hearings on legislation ending forced arbitration.
“The hearing itself changed my life,” said Spottiswoode. “I was able to speak publicly about the sexual violence that I experienced at the hands of (founder) Zia Chishti at his company Afiniti for the first time. Even though I had won in arbitration, my employment cause prohibited me from speaking publicly about my experiences.”
The measure, which passed with bi-partisan support last month, is expected to give victims the chance to decide what legal option works best for them — which Newton says is often not hiding it under the rug. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it in to law soon.
Spottiswoode and Newton were two of the four people who will be “virtual” guests. In the past, State of the Union attendees were allowed to bring guests in person. This year, they are not, due to COVID-19 rules.
