I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1423 

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mr. BEYER, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. 

DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. MICHAEL

F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI ́A of 

Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ

of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. 

HARDER of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. 

HILL of California, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. HORSFORD, 

Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. 

JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIM, 

Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE

of Nevada, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. TED

LIEU of California, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. CAROLYN B. 

MALONEY of New York, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, 

Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 

PAPPAS, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, 

Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RASKIN, 

Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. 

ROUDA, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. 

SARBANES, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. 

SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 

TONKO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1423 IH

VISCLOSKY, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILD, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. FINKENAUER, Ms. 

FUDGE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

SABLAN, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. DEAN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. WILSON

of Florida, and Mr. DOGGETT) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect 

to arbitration. 

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 ‘‘Forced Arbitration In5 justice Repeal Act’’ or ‘‘FAIR Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are to— 

8 (1) prohibit predispute arbitration agreements 

9 that force arbitration of future employment, con10 sumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes, and 

11 (2) prohibit agreements and practices that 

12 interfere with the right of individuals, workers, and 

13 small businesses to participate in a joint, class, or 

14 collective action related to an employment, con15 sumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1423 IH

1 SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSUMER, ANTI2 TRUST, AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES. 

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

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 4—ARBITRATION OF EMPLOY6 MENT, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST, AND 

7 CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES 

‘‘401. Definitions. 

‘‘402. No validity or enforceability. 

8 ‘‘§ 401. Definitions 

9 ‘‘In this chapter— 

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘antitrust dispute’ means a dis11 pute— 

12 ‘‘(A) arising from an alleged violation of 

13 the antitrust laws (as defined in subsection (a) 

14 of the first section of the Clayton Act) or State 

15 antitrust laws; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in which the plaintiffs seek certifi17 cation as a class under rule 23 of the Federal 

18 Rules of Civil Procedure or a comparable rule 

19 or provision of State law; 

20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘civil rights dispute’ means a dis21 pute— 

22 ‘‘(A) arising from an alleged violation of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Constitution of the United 

24 States or the constitution of a State; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1423 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) any Federal, State, or local law 

2 that prohibits discrimination on the basis 

3 of race, sex, age, gender identity, sexual 

4 orientation, disability, religion, national or5 igin, or any legally protected status in edu6 cation, employment, credit, housing, public 

7 accommodations and facilities, voting, vet8 erans or servicemembers, health care, or a 

9 program funded or conducted by the Fed10 eral Government or State government, in11 cluding any law referred to or described in 

12 section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986, including parts of such law not 

14 explicitly referenced in such section but 

15 that relate to protecting individuals on any 

16 such basis; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in which at least 1 party alleging a 

18 violation described in subparagraph (A) is one 

19 or more individuals (or their authorized rep20 resentative), including one or more individuals 

21 seeking certification as a class under rule 23 of 

22 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a com23 parable rule or provision of State law; 

24 ‘‘(3) the term ‘consumer dispute’ means a dis25 pute between— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1423 IH

1 ‘‘(A) one or more individuals who seek or 

2 acquire real or personal property, services (in3 cluding services related to digital technology), 

4 securities or other investments, money, or credit 

5 for personal, family, or household purposes in6 cluding an individual or individuals who seek 

7 certification as a class under rule 23 of the 

8 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a com9 parable rule or provision of State law; and 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) the seller or provider of such prop11 erty, services, securities or other investments, 

12 money, or credit; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a third party involved in the selling, 

14 providing of, payment for, receipt or use of in15 formation about, or other relationship to any 

16 such property, services, securities or other in17 vestments, money, or credit; 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘employment dispute’ means a 

19 dispute between one or more individuals (or their 

20 authorized representative) and a person arising out 

21 of or related to the work relationship or prospective 

22 work relationship between them, including a dispute 

23 regarding the terms of or payment for, advertising 

24 of, recruiting for, referring of, arranging for, or dis25 cipline or discharge in connection with, such work, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1423 IH

1 regardless of whether the individual is or would be 

2 classified as an employee or an independent con3 tractor with respect to such work, and including a 

4 dispute arising under any law referred to or de5 scribed in section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue 

6 Code of 1986, including parts of such law not explic7 itly referenced in such section but that relate to pro8 tecting individuals on any such basis, and including 

9 a dispute in which an individual or individuals seek 

10 certification as a class under rule 23 of the Federal 

11 Rules of Civil Procedure or as a collective action 

12 under section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards 

13 Act, or a comparable rule or provision of State law; 

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘predispute arbitration agree15 ment’ means an agreement to arbitrate a dispute 

16 that has not yet arisen at the time of the making 

17 of the agreement; and 

18 ‘‘(6) the term ‘predispute joint-action waiver’ 

19 means an agreement, whether or not part of a 

20 predispute arbitration agreement, that would pro21 hibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the 

22 agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collec23 tive action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative, or 

24 other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet 

25 arisen at the time of the making of the agreement. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1423 IH

1 ‘‘§ 402. No validity or enforceability 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro3 vision of this title, no predispute arbitration agreement or 

4 predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable 

5 with respect to an employment dispute, consumer dispute, 

6 antitrust dispute, or civil rights dispute. 

7 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An issue as to whether this 

9 chapter applies with respect to a dispute shall be de10 termined under Federal law. The applicability of this 

11 chapter to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity 

12 and enforceability of an agreement to which this 

13 chapter applies shall be determined by a court, rath14 er than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the 

15 party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration 

16 agreement specifically or in conjunction with other 

17 terms of the contract containing such agreement, 

18 and irrespective of whether the agreement purports 

19 to delegate such determinations to an arbitrator. 

20 ‘‘(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.— 

21 Nothing in this chapter shall apply to any arbitra22 tion provision in a contract between an employer and 

23 a labor organization or between labor organizations, 

24 except that no such arbitration provision shall have 

25 the effect of waiving the right of a worker to seek 

26 judicial enforcement of a right arising under a proviVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1423.IH H1423

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1423 IH

1 sion of the Constitution of the United States, a 

2 State constitution, or a Federal or State statute, or 

3 public policy arising therefrom.’’. 

4 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

6 Code is amended— 

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

8 and all that follows through ‘‘interstate com9 merce,’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘of individ10 uals, regardless of whether such individuals are 

11 designated as employees or independent con12 tractors for other purposes’’, 

13 (B) in section 2 by inserting ‘‘or as other14 wise provided in chapter 4’’ before the period at 

15 the end, 

16 (C) in section 208— 

17 (i) in the section heading by striking 

18 ‘‘CHAPTER 1; RESIDUAL APPLICA19 TION’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’, 

20 and 

21 (ii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent 

23 that this chapter is not in conflict with 

24 chapter 4.’’, and 

25 (D) in section 307— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 1423 IH

1 (i) in the section heading by striking 

2 ‘‘CHAPTER 1; RESIDUAL APPLICA3 TION’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’, 

4 and 

5 (ii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent 

7 that this chapter is not in conflict with 

8 chapter 4.’’. 

9 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.— 

10 (A) CHAPTER 2.—The table of sections of 

11 chapter 2 of title 9, United States Code, is 

12 amended by striking the item relating to section 

13 208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘208. Application.’’. 

14 (B) CHAPTER 3.—The table of sections of 

15 chapter 3 of title 9, United States Code, is 

16 amended by striking the item relating to section 

17 307 and inserting the following: 

‘‘307. Application.’’. 

18 (3) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap19 ters of title 9, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘4. Arbitration of employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes’’. 

21 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1423 IH

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

2 or accrues on or after such date. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS