The election of Rashida Tlaib in both the 2018 and 2020 contests was based on her promise of extending the civil rights laws in the United States.
As she is progressive in her approach, being vocal about civil rights is not surprising at all from her side.
She championed the civil rights debate, and this was one of the reasons for her to get into the House.
Sticking with her claims, Rep. Rashida Tlaib recognized the need for change in the civil rights saws and therefore introduced the Justice for All Act just before the elections.
Democrats should make sure to act on this legislation as soon as possible to make it a law. Once it is made a law, it will widen the scope of civil rights in the United States. This will help people to uplift their standard of living by dodging the prejudices present in the system.
How Rashida Tlaib Envisions Helping the Unheard in the United States
The Justice for All Act is historic legislation, sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib and co-sponsored by Joseph P. Kennedy III and Debra Haaland, intended to reassure the integrity of civil rights law.
The problem with civil rights in the United States is that the conservative-dominated court often curtails civil rights, despite having legislation on those rights.
The Justice for All Act will push back against the decades-old conservative rulings against restoring the original intent of the civil rights law.
The Justice for All Act by Rashida Tlaib includes a private right to action, along with a prohibition on forced arbitration.
This will allow the victims of discrimination of any kind to not only take legal action against the harasser but also receive an award and attorney’s fee as compensation.
At its core, the Justice for All act is seeking to expand the rights under the following laws including:
- Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Fair Housing Act of 1968
- Age Discrimination Act of 1975
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
The Justice for All Act by Rashida Tlaib could be summarized in the following points:
- Amending previous civil rights laws to prohibit discriminatory actions while also providing tools to fight intentional and unintentional discrimination
- Protection from discrimination in all aspects, including schooling, housing, accommodation, employment, federally funded programs, etc.
- Stopping the use of compelled arbitration clauses that are often used to extinguish consumer and employee rights.
- Prohibiting immunity for government employees and holding relevant government units responsible for the actions of their employees.
- Holding employers accountable for the actions of their employees.
- Providing victims of desperate discrimination with compensation, along with attorney fees.
- Clarification of definition of sex when it comes to civil rights, including orientation, pregnancy, gender identity, sex stereotypes, and any other related terms and traits.
The main aim of the Justice for All Act is to safeguard minority communities against discrimination.
Justice for All Act: A Bill of Utmost Urgency
For decades, many important civil rights laws have been compromised in the United States. An example is the elimination of the availability of civil rights claims on the disparities rather than the discriminatory intent that is more difficult to prove.
The last bill on civil rights was enacted about fifty years ago, and since then, the concept of fundamental human rights has been changed to a great extent.
The civil rights in Donald Trump’s era even eroded further amid the rising disparities against people of color and religious minorities.
For instance, Donald Trump extended the immigration ban on many Muslim countries, a move which was decried by many stakeholders.
The rising difference among the minimum pay gap between different races, the variation in jails’ occupation by the various ethnicities, and the distinctive behavior of the police officers toward people of different races speak volumes about the inequality that kicked off this bill.
For this very reason, Rashida Tlaib said,
“I will fight back against every racist and oppressive structure that needs to be dismantled.”
(Rashida Tlaib)
Final Thoughts
The inclination of Rashida Tlaib towards these types of acts is no surprise considering she is progressive, and progressives as a whole are very vocal about civil rights.
Biden should prioritize these types of bills and get them passed from Congress at the earliest possible convenience.
The shattered economy in the times of the COVID-19 crisis decry that the government should incentivize those in need, and passing these acts is the only way out to lessen the burden on the already strained individuals.
Not only this but, there is no room in the country itself for the practices that aim to uplift a specific faction of the society by ignoring others.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.