II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4502 

To prohibit forced arbitration in work disputes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2024 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. DURBIN, 

Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Mr. BROWN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. REED, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To prohibit forced arbitration in work disputes, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Justice for 

5 Workers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Millions of workers are currently forced to 

9 accept, as a condition of employment or work, conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 4502 IS

1 tractual provisions that block their access to the 

2 courts or prohibit them from joining together with 

3 other workers to seek joint, class, or collective relief 

4 for violations of their rights. This has led to wide5 spread nonenforcement of workers’ rights and has 

6 permitted significant violations of those rights to 

7 continue unabated. 

8 (2) Most workers have little or no meaningful 

9 choice regarding whether to accept these provisions. 

10 Often, workers are not even aware that they have 

11 given up the right to seek recourse in court or have 

12 waived their right to join other workers in joint, 

13 class, or collective actions. 

14 (3) Chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code 

15 (commonly known as the ‘‘Federal Arbitration 

16 Act’’), was intended to clarify the ability of commer17 cial entities of generally similar sophistication and 

18 bargaining power to voluntarily agree to use arbitra19 tion to resolve disputes between them. Despite this 

20 congressional intent, the Supreme Court of the 

21 United States has interpreted that law so that it 

22 now extends to work disputes. 

23 (4) The National Labor Relations Act (29 

24 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) protects employees’ right to en25 gage in concerted activities for the purpose of muVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 4502 IS

1 tual aid or protection. This was intended and long 

2 understood to encompass employees’ right to collec3 tively seek relief for violations of their workplace 

4 rights. However, contrary to the plain text of the 

5 law and congressional intent, the Supreme Court of 

6 the United States, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 

7 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), decided that employees may 

8 be forced, as a condition of employment, to waive 

9 their right to act collectively with regard to employ10 ment actions. 

11 (5) Forced individual dispute resolution under12 mines workers’ rights and exacerbates the inequality 

13 of bargaining power between workers and employers 

14 because joining a joint, class, or collective action is 

15 often the only way workers can afford to seek relief 

16 for violations of their rights. 

17 (6) Workers who are forced to submit to indi18 vidual dispute resolution often seek no redress at all 

19 due to well-founded fear of retaliation. 

20 (7) Protecting the rights of workers to individ21 ually or concertedly seek relief for violations of their 

22 labor rights through appropriate forums protects the 

23 public interest and safeguards commerce from in24 jury. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 4502 IS

1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to— 

3 (1) prohibit predispute arbitration agreements 

4 that require arbitration of work disputes; 

5 (2) prohibit retaliation against workers for re6 fusing to arbitrate work disputes; 

7 (3) provide protections to ensure that 

8 postdispute arbitration agreements are truly vol9 untary and with the informed consent of workers; 

10 and 

11 (4) amend the National Labor Relations Act to 

12 prohibit agreements and practices that interfere with 

13 employees’ right to engage in concerted activity re14 garding work disputes. 

15 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF CONCERTED ACTIVITY. 

16 (a) AGREEMENTS.—Section 8(a) of the National 

17 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6)(A) to enter into or attempt to enforce any 

22 agreement, express or implied, whereby prior to a 

23 dispute to which the agreement applies, an employee 

24 undertakes or promises not to pursue, bring, join, 

25 litigate, or support any kind of joint, class, or collec26 tive claim arising from or relating to the employVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 4502 IS

1 ment of such employee in any forum that, but for 

2 such agreement, is of competent jurisdiction; 

3 ‘‘(B) to coerce such an employee into under4 taking or promising not to pursue, bring, join, liti5 gate, or support any kind of joint, class, or collective 

6 claim arising from or relating to the employment of 

7 such employee; or 

8 ‘‘(C) to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against 

9 an employee for refusing to undertake or promise 

10 not to pursue, bring, join, litigate, or support any 

11 kind of joint, class, or collective claim arising from 

12 or relating to the employment of such employee: 

13 Provided, That any agreement that violates this 

14 paragraph or results from a violation of this para15 graph shall be to such extent unenforceable and 

16 void: Provided further, That this paragraph shall not 

17 apply to any agreement embodied in or expressly 

18 permitted by a contract between an employer and a 

19 labor organization.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10(b) of 

21 the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(b)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘discharge’’ and inserting ‘‘dis23 charge, or unless the person aggrieved thereby is an em24 ployee alleging a violation of section 8(a)(6) whose charge 

25 involves a postdispute arbitration agreement that meets 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 4502 IS

1 the requirements under section 502(a)(2) of title 9, United 

2 States Code, or an agreement described in section 

3 502(a)(4) of such title that meets the requirements under 

4 subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 502(a)(2) of 

5 such title, in which event the six-month period shall be 

6 computed from the day the waiting period described in 

7 subparagraph (C) of such section ends’’. 

8 SEC. 5. ARBITRATION OF WORK DISPUTES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States Code 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 5—ARBITRATION OF WORK 

12 DISPUTES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘501. Definitions. 

‘‘502. Validity and enforceability. 

13 ‘‘§ 501. Definitions 

14 ‘‘In this chapter: 

15 ‘‘(1) COMMERCE; EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—The 

16 terms ‘commerce’, ‘employee’, and ‘employer’ have 

17 the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the 

18 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

19 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en20 tity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) an employer; or 

22 ‘‘(B) an individual or entity that is not 

23 acting as an employer and engages the services 

24 of a worker. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 4502 IS

1 ‘‘(3) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT.— 

2 The term ‘predispute arbitration agreement’ has the 

3 meaning given that term in section 401. 

4 ‘‘(4) PREDISPUTE JOINT-ACTION WAIVER OF A

5 WORK DISPUTE.—The term ‘predispute joint-action 

6 waiver of a work dispute’ means an agreement under 

7 which a worker undertakes or promises not to pur8 sue, bring, join, litigate, or support any kind of 

9 joint, class, or collective claim arising from or relat10 ing to a work dispute that has not yet arisen at the 

11 time of the making of the agreement in any forum 

12 that, but for such agreement, is of competent juris13 diction. 

14 ‘‘(5) POSTDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE15 MENT.—The term ‘postdispute arbitration agree16 ment’ means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute 

17 that arose before the time of the making of the 

18 agreement. 

19 ‘‘(6) POSTDISPUTE JOINT-ACTION WAIVER OF A

20 WORK DISPUTE.—The term ‘postdispute joint-action 

21 waiver of a work dispute’ means an agreement under 

22 which a worker undertakes or promises not to pur23 sue, bring, join, litigate, or support any kind of 

24 joint, class, or collective claim arising from or relat25 ing to a work dispute that arose before the time of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 4502 IS

1 the making of the agreement in any forum that, but 

2 for such agreement, is of competent jurisdiction. 

3 ‘‘(7) WORK DISPUTE.—the term ‘work dis4 pute’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means a dispute between one or more 

6 workers (or their authorized representatives) 

7 and a covered entity arising out of or related to 

8 the work relationship or prospective work rela9 tionship between the workers and the covered 

10 entity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes— 

12 ‘‘(i) a dispute regarding the terms of, 

13 payment for, advertising of, recruitment of, 

14 referring of, arranging for, or discipline or 

15 discharge in connection with such work re16 lationship; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a dispute arising under any law 

18 referred to or described in section 62(e) of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, includ20 ing any part of such a law not explicitly 

21 referenced in such section that relates to 

22 protecting individuals on a basis that is 

23 protected under a law referred to or de24 scribed in such section; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 4502 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) a dispute in which an individual 

2 or individuals seek certification— 

3 ‘‘(I) as a class under rule 23 of 

4 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; 

5 ‘‘(II) as a collective action under 

6 section 16(b) of the Fair Labor 

7 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

8 216(b)); or 

9 ‘‘(III) under a comparable rule or 

10 provision of State law. 

11 ‘‘(8) WORKER.—The term ‘worker’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) an employee; or 

13 ‘‘(B) an individual who is engaged by a 

14 covered entity to perform services or work as an 

15 independent contractor (regardless of the label 

16 or classification assigned or used by the covered 

17 entity). 

18 ‘‘§ 502. Validity and enforceability 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other chap20 ter of this title— 

21 ‘‘(1) no predispute arbitration agreement shall 

22 be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a 

23 work dispute; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 4502 IS

1 ‘‘(2) no postdispute arbitration agreement that 

2 requires arbitration of a work dispute shall be valid 

3 or enforceable unless— 

4 ‘‘(A) the agreement was not required by 

5 the covered entity, obtained by coercion or 

6 threat of adverse action, or made a condition of 

7 employment, work, or any employment-related 

8 or work-related privilege or benefit; 

9 ‘‘(B) each worker entering into the agree10 ment was informed in writing using sufficiently 

11 plain language likely to be understood by the 

12 average worker of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the right of the worker under 

14 paragraph (5) to refuse to enter the agree15 ment without retaliation; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the protections under section 

17 8(a)(6) of the National Labor Relations 

18 Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(6)); 

19 ‘‘(C) each worker entering into the agree20 ment entered the agreement after a waiting pe21 riod of not fewer than 45 days, beginning on 

22 the date on which the worker was provided both 

23 the final text of the agreement and the disclo24 sures required under subparagraph (B); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 4502 IS

1 ‘‘(D) each worker entering into the agree2 ment affirmatively consented to the agreement 

3 in writing; 

4 ‘‘(3) no predispute joint-action waiver of a work 

5 dispute shall be valid or enforceable; 

6 ‘‘(4) no postdispute joint-action waiver of a 

7 work dispute shall be valid or enforceable, unless the 

8 agreement to waive meets the requirements of sub9 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2); and 

10 ‘‘(5) no covered entity may retaliate or threaten 

11 to retaliate against a worker for refusing to enter 

12 into an agreement that provides for arbitration of a 

13 work dispute. 

14 ‘‘(b) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—During the waiting 

15 period described in subsection (a)(2)(C), the statute of 

16 limitations for any claims that arise from or form the basis 

17 for the applicable work dispute shall be tolled. 

18 ‘‘(c) CIVIL ACTION.—Any person who is injured by 

19 reason of a violation of subsection (a)(5) may bring a civil 

20 action in the appropriate district court of the United 

21 States against the covered entity within 2 years of the vio22 lation, or within 3 years if such violation is willful. Relief 

23 granted in such an action shall include a reasonable attor24 ney’s fee, other reasonable costs associated with maintain25 ing the action, and any appropriate relief authorized by 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 4502 IS

1 section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

2 2000e–5(g)) or by section 1977A(b) of the Revised Stat3 utes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)). 

4 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This chapter applies to cov6 ered entities and workers engaged in activity affect7 ing commerce to the fullest extent permitted by the 

8 Constitution of the United States, including the 

9 work of persons engaged in domestic service in 

10 households, as described in section 2(a) of the Fair 

11 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 202(a)). 

12 ‘‘(2) ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION DETERMINED UNDER

14 FEDERAL LAW.—An issue as to whether this 

15 chapter applies to an arbitration agreement 

16 shall be determined under Federal law. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION DETERMINED BY

18 COURT.—The applicability of this chapter to an 

19 agreement to arbitrate and the validity and en20 forceability of an agreement to which this chap21 ter applies shall be determined by a court, rath22 er than an arbitrator, regardless of whether any 

23 contractual provision purports to delegate such 

24 determinations to the arbitrator and irrespec25 tive of whether the party resisting arbitration 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 4502 IS

1 challenges the arbitration agreement specifically 

2 or in conjunction with other terms of the con3 tract containing such agreement. 

4 ‘‘(C) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE5 MENTS.—Nothing in this chapter shall apply to 

6 any arbitration provision in a contract between 

7 a covered entity and a labor organization, ex8 cept that no such arbitration provision shall 

9 have the effect of waiving the right of a worker 

10 to seek judicial enforcement of a right arising 

11 under a provision of the Constitution of the 

12 United States, the constitution of a State, or a 

13 Federal or State statute, or public policy aris14 ing therefrom.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States 

17 Code is amended— 

18 (A) in section 1, by striking ‘‘of seamen,’’ 

19 and all that follows through ‘‘interstate com20 merce’’; 

21 (B) in section 2, by inserting ‘‘or 5’’ before 

22 the period at the end; 

23 (C) in section 208, in the second sentence, 

24 by inserting ‘‘or 5’’ before the period at the 

25 end; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 4502 IS

1 (D) in section 307, in the second sentence, 

2 by inserting ‘‘or 5’’ before the period at the 

3 end. 

4 (2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap5 ters for title 9, United States Code, is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘5. Arbitration of work disputes .............................................................. 501.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

9 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and 

10 shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises 

11 or accrues on or after such date, including any dispute 

12 or claim to which an agreement predating such date ap13 plies. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB