The U.S. House on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to ban forced workplace arbitration in cases involving sexual abuse, with the Senate approving it on Thursday by voice vote. Given the bill's strong bipartisan support in both chambers, it's an astonishing example of Republican and Democratic cooperation at a time when partisan rancor seems to be nearing historic highs.

Not only is there hope for America after a year of turmoil following a violent Capitol insurrection and impeachment of President Donald Trump, there's also new hope for sexual-abuse survivors who previously found their quest for justice often walled off behind corporate requirements of forced arbitration. Given the tendency of Republicans to automatically reject anything regarded by Democrats as righteous and worthy (and vice versa), this bill is a strong indicator that Republicans recognize a longstanding injustice, primarily inflicted on women in the workplace, that needed to be fixed. Besides, it never hurts in an election year to do something that reduces the alienation of women from one's party.

Forced arbitration in any circumstance typically yields an unsatisfying result for the victim because mediated settlements nearly always require both parties to keep the terms of the settlement secret. On one side is the lonely victim and, perhaps, her lawyer. On the other side is normally a large corporation with vast sums of money to mount the strongest legal defense possible. The pressure for the complainant to settle on the company's terms is typically high.

Discussing the terms publicly can invalidate the settlement and force the victim to return any payment made — plus a penalty. In sexual-abuse cases, it's doubly frustrating for the victim because the wall of silence that follows a settlement means the perpetrator of the abuse receives tacit protection from well-deserved public exposure. That sometimes leaves the perpetrator free to abuse again.

Just ask the many victims of film producer Harvey Weinstein or actor Bill Cosby. Out-of-court settlements in those cases obligated individual plaintiffs to keep silent, effectively enabling predatory abusers to stalk their next prey. Again and again and again.

According to The New York Times, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, approached Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, about cooperating on such a bill after Gretchen Carlson went public about the sexual harassment she endured when Roger Ailes headed Fox News. The network settled the case for $20 million, but a raft of other cases at the network suggested a pattern of settling sexual harassment claims then silencing the victims to keep the scandal quiet. Carlson, who had a forced-arbitration clause in her Fox contract, is the one who alerted Graham to the need for such legislation.

The House's approval on Monday, by a vote of 335 to 97, underscores the awareness of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that this situation reeks of unfairness. President Joe Biden says he'll sign the bill.

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