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Union Calendar No. 161 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1423 

[Report No. 116–204] 

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. 


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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. 

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 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. 

CRAIG, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. CROW, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. HECK, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. ALLRED, 

Ms. ADAMS, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, 

Ms. SCANLON, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. CLAY, Ms. 

BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. 

KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. SCHIFF, 

Ms. SHALALA, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. TITUS, Ms. WEXTON, 

Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. HIMES, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHRIER, 

Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, 

Mr. CLYBURN, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. CRIST, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. TRONE, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mr. STANTON, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. KIND, Mr. LAMB, 

Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. NEAL, Mr. KEATING, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. GAETZ, Ms. 

TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER, Ms. GABBARD, and Mr. VARGAS


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SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 28, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect 

to arbitration. 


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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 the ‘‘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 inter12 fere with the right of individuals, workers, and small 

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

14 action related to an employment, consumer, antitrust, 

15 or civil rights dispute. 

16 SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSUMER, ANTI17 TRUST, AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES. 

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

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘CHAPTER 4—ARBITRATION OF EMPLOY21 MENT, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST, AND 

22 CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES 

‘‘401. Definitions. 

‘‘402. No validity or enforceability. 

23 ‘‘§ 401. Definitions 

24 ‘‘In this chapter— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘antitrust dispute’ means a dis2 pute— 

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

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

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

6 antitrust laws; and 

7 ‘‘(B) in which the plaintiffs seek certifi8 cation as a class under rule 23 of the Federal 

9 Rules of Civil Procedure or a comparable rule or 

10 provision of State law; 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘civil rights dispute’ means a dis12 pute— 

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

14 ‘‘(i) the Constitution of the United 

15 States or the constitution of a State; 

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

17 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of 

18 race, sex, age, gender identity, sexual ori19 entation, disability, religion, national ori20 gin, or any legally protected status in edu21 cation, employment, credit, housing, public 

22 accommodations and facilities, voting, vet23 erans or servicemembers, health care, or a 

24 program funded or conducted by the Federal 

25 Government or State government, including 


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1 any law referred to or described in section 

2 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

3 including parts of such law not explicitly 

4 referenced in such section but that relate to 

5 protecting individuals on any such basis; 

6 and 

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

8 violation described in subparagraph (A) is one 

9 or more individuals (or their authorized rep10 resentative), including one or more individuals 

11 seeking certification as a class under rule 23 of 

12 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a com13 parable rule or provision of State law; 

14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘consumer dispute’ means a dis15 pute between— 

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

17 acquire real or personal property, services (in18 cluding services related to digital technology), se19 curities or other investments, money, or credit 

20 for personal, family, or household purposes in21 cluding an individual or individuals who seek 

22 certification as a class under rule 23 of the Fed23 eral Rules of Civil Procedure or a comparable 

24 rule or provision of State law; and 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) the seller or provider of such prop2 erty, services, securities or other investments, 

3 money, or credit; or 

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

5 providing of, payment for, receipt or use of in6 formation about, or other relationship to any 

7 such property, services, securities or other invest8 ments, money, or credit; 

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘employment dispute’ means a dis10 pute between one or more individuals (or their au11 thorized representative) and a person arising out of 

12 or related to the work relationship or prospective 

13 work relationship between them, including a dispute 

14 regarding the terms of or payment for, advertising of, 

15 recruiting for, referring of, arranging for, or dis16 cipline or discharge in connection with, such work, 

17 regardless of whether the individual is or would be 

18 classified as an employee or an independent con19 tractor with respect to such work, and including a 

20 dispute arising under any law referred to or described 

21 in section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

22 including parts of such law not explicitly referenced 

23 in such section but that relate to protecting individ24 uals on any such basis, and including a dispute in 

25 which an individual or individuals seek certification 


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1 as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil 

2 Procedure or as a collective action under section 16(b) 

3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or a comparable 

4 rule or provision of State law; 

5 ‘‘(5) the term ‘predispute arbitration agreement’ 

6 means an agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has 

7 not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agree8 ment; and 

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

10 means an agreement, whether or not part of a 

11 predispute arbitration agreement, that would pro12 hibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the 

13 agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collective 

14 action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative, or other 

15 forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen 

16 at the time of the making of the agreement. 

17 ‘‘§ 402. No validity or enforceability 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of this title, no predispute arbitration agreement or 

20 predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable 

21 with respect to an employment dispute, consumer dispute, 

22 antitrust dispute, or civil rights dispute. 

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.— 

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

25 chapter applies with respect to a dispute shall be deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1423.RH H1423

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1 termined under Federal law. The applicability of this 

2 chapter to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity 

3 and enforceability of an agreement to which this 

4 chapter applies shall be determined by a court, rather 

5 than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party 

6 resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agree7 ment specifically or in conjunction with other terms 

8 of the contract containing such agreement, and irre9 spective of whether the agreement purports to delegate 

10 such determinations to an arbitrator. 

11 ‘‘(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.— 

12 Nothing in this chapter shall apply to any arbitra13 tion provision in a contract between an employer and 

14 a labor organization or between labor organizations, 

15 except that no such arbitration provision shall have 

16 the effect of waiving the right of a worker to seek judi17 cial enforcement of a right arising under a provision 

18 of the Constitution of the United States, a State con19 stitution, or a Federal or State statute, or public pol20 icy arising therefrom.’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

23 Code is amended— 

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

25 and all that follows through ‘‘interstate comVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1423.RH H1423

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1 merce,’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘of individ2 uals, regardless of whether such individuals are 

3 designated as employees or independent contrac4 tors for other purposes’’, 

5 (B) in section 2 by inserting ‘‘or as other6 wise provided in chapter 4’’ before the period at 

7 the end, 

8 (C) in section 208— 

9 (i) in the section heading by striking 

10 ‘‘CHAPTER 1; RESIDUAL APPLICATION’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’, and 

12 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent that this 

14 chapter is not in conflict with chapter 4.’’, 

15 and 

16 (D) in section 307— 

17 (i) in the section heading by striking 

18 ‘‘CHAPTER 1; RESIDUAL APPLICATION’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’, and 

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

21 ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent that this 

22 chapter is not in conflict with chapter 4.’’. 

23 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.— 

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

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


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1 amended by striking the item relating to section 

2 208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘208. Application.’’. 

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

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

5 amended by striking the item relating to section 

6 307 and inserting the following: 

‘‘307. Application.’’. 

7 (3) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters 

8 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

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

10 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall 

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

13 apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises or 

14 accrues on or after such date. 


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Union Calendar No. 161 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1423 

[Report No. 116–204] 

A BILL 

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with 

respect to arbitration. 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS