II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2915 

To provide that employment-related arbitration agreements shall not be 

enforceable with respect to any claim related to a tort arising out of rape. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2009 

Mr. CORKER (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. CRAPO, and Mr. VITTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide that employment-related arbitration agreements 

shall not be enforceable with respect to any claim related 

to a tort arising out of rape. 

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 ‘‘Rape Victims Act of 

5 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Federal law has long held that workplace 

9 disputes may be the subject of valid agreements to 


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1 arbitrate unless Congress ‘‘has evinced an intention 

2 to preclude’’ such agreements for the disputes at 

3 issue. See Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 

4 500 U.S. 20, 26 (1991). 

5 (2) It is the intent of Congress that employees 

6 not be compelled by an employer to arbitrate any 

7 claim related to a tort arising out of rape. 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to evidence 

9 the intent of Congress to preclude an employer from en10 forcing an agreement to arbitrate any claim related to a 

11 tort arising out of rape. 

12 SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF CERTAIN CONTROVERSIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, any agreement made between an employer and 

15 an employee to arbitrate a dispute shall not be enforceable 

16 with respect to any claim related to a tort arising out of 

17 rape. 

18 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall not be 

19 construed to limit, in any way, the broad construction 

20 given to the scope of employment under any Federal or 

21 State workers’ compensation law. 

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘commerce’’ means 

24 trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, trans25 mission, or communication among the several States; 


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1 or between a State and any place outside thereof; or 

2 within the District of Columbia, or a possession of 

3 the United States; or between points in the same 

4 State but through a point outside thereof. 

5 (2) INDUSTRY AFFECTING COMMERCE.—The 

6 term ‘‘industry affecting commerce’’ means any ac7 tivity, business, or industry in commerce or in which 

8 a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce 

9 or the free flow of commerce and includes any activ10 ity or industry ‘‘affecting commerce’’ within the 

11 meaning of the Labor-Management Reporting and 

12 Disclosure Act of 1959, and further includes any 

13 governmental industry, business, or activity. 

14 (3) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

15 a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce 

16 who has 15 or more employees for each working day 

17 in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current 

18 or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such 

19 a person, but such term does not include— 

20 (A) the United States, a corporation wholly 

21 owned by the Government of the United States, 

22 or any department or agency of the District of 

23 Columbia subject by statute to procedures of 

24 the competitive service (as defined in section 

25 2102 of title 5 of the United States Code); or 


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1 (B) a bona fide private membership club 

2 (other than a labor organization) which is ex3 empt from taxation under section 501(c) of the 

4 Internal Revenue Code of 1954. 

5 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

6 an individual employed by an employer, except that 

7 the term ‘‘employee’’ shall not include any person 

8 elected to public office in any State or political sub9 division of any State by the qualified voters thereof, 

10 or any person chosen by such officer to be on such 

11 officer’s personal staff, or an appointee on the policy 

12 making level or an immediate adviser with respect to 

13 the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of 

14 the office. The exemption set forth in the preceding 

15 sentence shall not include employees subject to the 

16 civil service laws of a State government, govern17 mental agency or political subdivision. With respect 

18 to employment in a foreign country, such term in19 cludes an individual who is a citizen of the United 

20 States. 

Æ 


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