Female KBR Employee Who Was Raped and Held in Storage Container Awarded $3 Million

[one...two...tree 2,762]

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, in dismissing the lawsuit against KBR, said that until Congress tells courts that binding contracts to arbitrate do not include sexual harassment claims, Barker's claims had to be arbitrated.

Last month, the Senate approved a measure prohibiting the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration.

The amendment was attached to a larger defense spending bill. A vote on the full bill was expected later.

In September, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a similar lawsuit filed by another ex-contract worker, Jamie Leigh Jones, could go to court in Houston instead of arbitration.

Jones filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 claiming she was raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters while working at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005.

Jones has also made her identity public in her lawsuit and her face and name have been broadcast in media reports and on her own Web site.

..........

Back story....

Employee contract developed under Cheney's tenure prevented Jamie Leigh Jones from pursuing justice

Jamie Leigh Jones made headlines two years ago when she alleged that, as a KBR employee on assignment in Iraq, she was raped by her co-workers, then imprisoned by her employer and threatened with firing.

Now, Jones has won the right to sue KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company once run by ####### Cheney.

As Mother Jones reports, an employee contract Jones signed -- developed during Cheney's tenure as CEO of Halliburton -- prevented her from suing the company. Instead, she was forced into binding arbitration, a process that had resulted in redressal for only three employees out of 119 who had pursued grievances against the company.

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract. On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor, arguing that Jones' alleged rape did not fall under the auspices of the employee contract because "her alleged injuries were not, in fact, in any way related to her employment and thus, not covered by the contract," Mother Jones reports.

Jones' experience has become one of many examples of the dangers of the legal impunity given to military contractors in Iraq. As ABC News noted when the story first went public, "legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law."

Jones' story, made public in late 2007, shocked the conscience of news audiences. ABC News described her predicament:

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.

"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.

Jones told ABC she was able to contact her father, who in turn contacted their congressman, resulting in the State Department freeing her from the container.

"Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter," ABC News noted at the time.

Jones' lawsuit states that she was drugged and gang-raped repeatedly, "both vaginally and anally."

But, as Mother Jones notes, the former KBR employee's legal victory may have consequences beyond her own case, as binding arbitration comes increasingly under attack for being unfair to employees.

"Her case may bolster pending legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in employment and other consumer contracts," Mother Jones writes. "Jones' victory comes as yet another body blow to a practice that has come under serious fire in recent months as heavily rigged against consumers."

-- Daniel Tencer

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/kbr-raped-right-to-sue/

[SMR 368]

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, in dismissing the lawsuit against KBR, said that until Congress tells courts that binding contracts to arbitrate do not include sexual harassment claims, Barker's claims had to be arbitrated.

Last month, the Senate approved a measure prohibiting the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration.

The amendment was attached to a larger defense spending bill. A vote on the full bill was expected later.

In September, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a similar lawsuit filed by another ex-contract worker, Jamie Leigh Jones, could go to court in Houston instead of arbitration.

Jones filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 claiming she was raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters while working at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005.

Jones has also made her identity public in her lawsuit and her face and name have been broadcast in media reports and on her own Web site.

..........

Back story....

Employee contract developed under Cheney's tenure prevented Jamie Leigh Jones from pursuing justice

Jamie Leigh Jones made headlines two years ago when she alleged that, as a KBR employee on assignment in Iraq, she was raped by her co-workers, then imprisoned by her employer and threatened with firing.

Now, Jones has won the right to sue KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company once run by ####### Cheney.

As Mother Jones reports, an employee contract Jones signed -- developed during Cheney's tenure as CEO of Halliburton -- prevented her from suing the company. Instead, she was forced into binding arbitration, a process that had resulted in redressal for only three employees out of 119 who had pursued grievances against the company.

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract. On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor, arguing that Jones' alleged rape did not fall under the auspices of the employee contract because "her alleged injuries were not, in fact, in any way related to her employment and thus, not covered by the contract," Mother Jones reports.

Jones' experience has become one of many examples of the dangers of the legal impunity given to military contractors in Iraq. As ABC News noted when the story first went public, "legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law."

Jones' story, made public in late 2007, shocked the conscience of news audiences. ABC News described her predicament:

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.

"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.

Jones told ABC she was able to contact her father, who in turn contacted their congressman, resulting in the State Department freeing her from the container.

"Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter," ABC News noted at the time.

Jones' lawsuit states that she was drugged and gang-raped repeatedly, "both vaginally and anally."

But, as Mother Jones notes, the former KBR employee's legal victory may have consequences beyond her own case, as binding arbitration comes increasingly under attack for being unfair to employees.

"Her case may bolster pending legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in employment and other consumer contracts," Mother Jones writes. "Jones' victory comes as yet another body blow to a practice that has come under serious fire in recent months as heavily rigged against consumers."

-- Daniel Tencer

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/kbr-raped-right-to-sue/

I'm a little bit confused here. How come criminal charges can't be brought against the employees who raped her and the employer who imprisoned her? I was under the impression that arbitration only covers civil suits. I don't think you can sign a contract that says you can't press charges against someone criminally, especially since it's the DA, not the victim who presses charges.

I assume this has something to do with the legal system in Iraq. Can't they be prosecuted under the Iraqi legal system? Or are rape and kidnapping legal in Iraq?

I'm skeptical of civil suits because in almost all civil suits, the only person who wins are the lawyers.

[HAL 9000 96]

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, in dismissing the lawsuit against KBR, said that until Congress tells courts that binding contracts to arbitrate do not include sexual harassment claims, Barker's claims had to be arbitrated.

Last month, the Senate approved a measure prohibiting the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration.

The amendment was attached to a larger defense spending bill. A vote on the full bill was expected later.

In September, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a similar lawsuit filed by another ex-contract worker, Jamie Leigh Jones, could go to court in Houston instead of arbitration.

Jones filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 claiming she was raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters while working at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005.

Jones has also made her identity public in her lawsuit and her face and name have been broadcast in media reports and on her own Web site.

..........

Back story....

Employee contract developed under Cheney's tenure prevented Jamie Leigh Jones from pursuing justice

Jamie Leigh Jones made headlines two years ago when she alleged that, as a KBR employee on assignment in Iraq, she was raped by her co-workers, then imprisoned by her employer and threatened with firing.

Now, Jones has won the right to sue KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company once run by ####### Cheney.

As Mother Jones reports, an employee contract Jones signed -- developed during Cheney's tenure as CEO of Halliburton -- prevented her from suing the company. Instead, she was forced into binding arbitration, a process that had resulted in redressal for only three employees out of 119 who had pursued grievances against the company.

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract. On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor, arguing that Jones' alleged rape did not fall under the auspices of the employee contract because "her alleged injuries were not, in fact, in any way related to her employment and thus, not covered by the contract," Mother Jones reports.

Jones' experience has become one of many examples of the dangers of the legal impunity given to military contractors in Iraq. As ABC News noted when the story first went public, "legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law."

Jones' story, made public in late 2007, shocked the conscience of news audiences. ABC News described her predicament:

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.

"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.

Jones told ABC she was able to contact her father, who in turn contacted their congressman, resulting in the State Department freeing her from the container.

"Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter," ABC News noted at the time.

Jones' lawsuit states that she was drugged and gang-raped repeatedly, "both vaginally and anally."

But, as Mother Jones notes, the former KBR employee's legal victory may have consequences beyond her own case, as binding arbitration comes increasingly under attack for being unfair to employees.

"Her case may bolster pending legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in employment and other consumer contracts," Mother Jones writes. "Jones' victory comes as yet another body blow to a practice that has come under serious fire in recent months as heavily rigged against consumers."

-- Daniel Tencer

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/kbr-raped-right-to-sue/

I'm a little bit confused here. How come criminal charges can't be brought against the employees who raped her and the employer who imprisoned her? I was under the impression that arbitration only covers civil suits. I don't think you can sign a contract that says you can't press charges against someone criminally, especially since it's the DA, not the victim who presses charges.

I assume this has something to do with the legal system in Iraq. Can't they be prosecuted under the Iraqi legal system? Or are rape and kidnapping legal in Iraq?

I'm skeptical of civil suits because in almost all civil suits, the only person who wins are the lawyers.

Remember that next time American contractors do something like... say... take shots at civilians in markets. Oh I don't know... things like these never happen right?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'm a little bit confused here. How come criminal charges can't be brought against the employees who raped her and the employer who imprisoned her? I was under the impression that arbitration only covers civil suits. I don't think you can sign a contract that says you can't press charges against someone criminally, especially since it's the DA, not the victim who presses charges.

I assume this has something to do with the legal system in Iraq. Can't they be prosecuted under the Iraqi legal system? Or are rape and kidnapping legal in Iraq?

I'm skeptical of civil suits because in almost all civil suits, the only person who wins are the lawyers.

So if you were gang raped by your fellow employees and then kept in a storage container with the threat that if you left the container, you'd lose your job, you wouldn't sue?

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract.

[justashooter 430]

it would be interesting to read the true back story of the events, as told by all involved parties. if she is 22 now, and the incident occured 3 years ago, there may be mitigating circumstances. the detainment could have been protective in nature, and is within the standards of conduct suitable for investigative procedure. personnel working overseas outside of military justice cannot be tried in American court for interpersonal crimes. they are subject to the legal system of the country in which they are living, assuming that the crime occured outside of US treaty granted territory (embassies, military bases, etc).

WAG, she got drunk (underage) with a bunch of guys one night and pulled a train, was thrown in "the tank" to sober up, and was given a choice of keeping her job or leaving. what the hell is a 19 year old girl doing working in an occupied country in the first place? in the middle east as an infidel woman, no less?

oh well, anything for the big bux.

[SMR 368]

I'm a little bit confused here. How come criminal charges can't be brought against the employees who raped her and the employer who imprisoned her? I was under the impression that arbitration only covers civil suits. I don't think you can sign a contract that says you can't press charges against someone criminally, especially since it's the DA, not the victim who presses charges.

I assume this has something to do with the legal system in Iraq. Can't they be prosecuted under the Iraqi legal system? Or are rape and kidnapping legal in Iraq?

I'm skeptical of civil suits because in almost all civil suits, the only person who wins are the lawyers.

So if you were gang raped by your fellow employees and then kept in a storage container with the threat that if you left the container, you'd lose your job, you wouldn't sue?

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract.

No, I'd press charges and put the responsible parties in jail. The problem here seems to be the Iraqi illegal system. She wasn't in US jurisdiction, so it isn't a US legal problem. If the Iraqi system doesn't put rapists in jail, I see that as a problem. I would support a law that would allow the perpetrators to be tried under US criminal law but that would admittedly be complicated.

Point is, this is clearly a criminal matter. I don't think we need to adjust the civil law to deal with a criminal matter. Fix the criminal law. I disagree with people suing a company because a crime was perpetrated against them. Holding individuals financially responsible is reasonable depending on circumstance.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'm a little bit confused here. How come criminal charges can't be brought against the employees who raped her and the employer who imprisoned her? I was under the impression that arbitration only covers civil suits. I don't think you can sign a contract that says you can't press charges against someone criminally, especially since it's the DA, not the victim who presses charges.

I assume this has something to do with the legal system in Iraq. Can't they be prosecuted under the Iraqi legal system? Or are rape and kidnapping legal in Iraq?

I'm skeptical of civil suits because in almost all civil suits, the only person who wins are the lawyers.

So if you were gang raped by your fellow employees and then kept in a storage container with the threat that if you left the container, you'd lose your job, you wouldn't sue?

After Jones and her lawyer realized that the federal government would pursue no charges against the accused, and that the arbitration process would likely yield no results, they went to court to challenge the employee contract.

No, I'd press charges and put the responsible parties in jail. The problem here seems to be the Iraqi illegal system. She wasn't in US jurisdiction, so it isn't a US legal problem. If the Iraqi system doesn't put rapists in jail, I see that as a problem. I would support a law that would allow the perpetrators to be tried under US criminal law but that would admittedly be complicated.

Point is, this is clearly a criminal matter. I don't think we need to adjust the civil law to deal with a criminal matter. Fix the criminal law. I disagree with people suing a company because a crime was perpetrated against them. Holding individuals financially responsible is reasonable depending on circumstance.

So you don't support victim's rights - to be able to sue? Interesting.

[AlHayatZween 2]

She wasn't in US jurisdiction, so it isn't a US legal problem.

Says it happened in the Green Zone... Who is in charge of the Green Zone...

Iraq didn't have a functioning gov 3 years ago, did they? (i'm genuinely asking...)

In any event, it's a terrible story. i remember when it came out, and it is just shocking and terrible...

[HAL 9000 96]

Ah so its a jurisdictional concern...

I guess the entire war on terror shouldn't have happened then.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Ah so its a jurisdictional concern...

I guess the entire war on terror shouldn't have happened then.

[HAL 9000 96]

Or just Iraq on that matter. Some say Afghanistan was justified, but I still don't buy that either. Then again, that's causality. Now we have to deal with what we got ourselves into right?

[Kevin and 10]

KBR was sued for human trafficking and lobbied against human trafficking policy and they still get contracts from the .GOV Having buddies in the .GOV helps.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8082703237.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...0,1632557.story

[one...two...tree 2,762]

KBR was sued for human trafficking and lobbied against human trafficking policy and they still get contracts from the .GOV Having buddies in the .GOV helps.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8082703237.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...0,1632557.story

Yep. Just terrible and wrong.

[AlHayatZween 2]

KBR was sued for human trafficking and lobbied against human trafficking policy and they still get contracts from the .GOV Having buddies in the .GOV helps.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8082703237.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...0,1632557.story

Yep. Just terrible and wrong.

why...??

i just don't understand this world...

i'm having a terrible Macro day.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

KBR was sued for human trafficking and lobbied against human trafficking policy and they still get contracts from the .GOV Having buddies in the .GOV helps.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8082703237.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...0,1632557.story

Yep. Just terrible and wrong.

why...??

i just don't understand this world...

i'm having a terrible Macro day.

I know...it's disheartening. I haven't really read all the details, but on a positive note - it looks like the Obama Administration is planning a massive troop withdrawal out of Iraq around March of 2010.