. . .
The rule does not explicitly ban mandatory arbitration. Still, critics of the rule say it will effectively kill mandatory arbitration.
“The report by the Treasury Department rehashes industry arguments that were analyzed in depth and solidly refuted in the final rule,” said Samuel Gilford, a spokesman for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He added that the bureau’s analysis “found that mandatory arbitration clauses allow companies to avoid accountability for breaking the law and cost consumers billions of dollars by blocking group lawsuits.”
Across the country, judges, prosecutors and some regulators have forcefully echoed those complaints, faulting arbitration clauses for enabling corporations to opt out of the court system and depriving Americans of one of the few ways to fight abusive business practices.
Some Democrats revived those arguments on Monday. “With this report, the Trump administration has twisted itself into a pretzel to try to undermine a rule that protects consumers from unscrupulous actors like Equifax and Wells Fargo,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.
