II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 852 

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 

MARCH 24, 2015 

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 ‘‘A Voice for Victims Act 

5 of 2015’’. 

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 

10 arbitrate unless Congress ‘‘has evinced an intention 


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1 to preclude’’ such agreements for the disputes at 

2 issue. (See Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 

3 500 U.S. 20, 26 (1991)). 

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

5 not be compelled by an employer to arbitrate any 

6 claim related to a tort arising out of rape. 

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

8 the intent of Congress to preclude an employer from en9 forcing an agreement to arbitrate any claim related to a 

10 tort arising out of rape. 

11 SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF CERTAIN CONTROVERSIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, any agreement made between an employer and 

14 an employee to arbitrate a dispute shall not be enforceable 

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

16 rape. 

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

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

19 given to the scope of employment under any Federal or 

20 State workers’ compensation law. 

21 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

23 trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, trans24 mission, or communication— 

25 (A) among the several States; 


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1 (B) between a State and any place outside 

2 thereof; 

3 (C) within the District of Columbia or a 

4 possession of the United States; or 

5 (D) between points in the same State but 

6 through a point outside thereof. 

7 (2) INDUSTRY AFFECTING COMMERCE.—The 

8 term ‘‘industry affecting commerce’’— 

9 (A) means any activity, business, or indus10 try in commerce or in which a labor dispute 

11 would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free 

12 flow of commerce; 

13 (B) includes any activity or industry af14 fecting commerce, within the meaning of the 

15 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure 

16 Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 401 et seq.); and 

17 (C) includes any governmental industry, 

18 business, or activity. 

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

20 a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce 

21 who has 15 or more employees for each working day 

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

23 or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such 

24 a person, but such term does not include— 


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1 (A) the United States, a corporation wholly 

2 owned by the Government of the United States, 

3 or any department or agency of the District of 

4 Columbia subject by statute to procedures of 

5 the competitive service (as defined in section 

6 2102 of title 5, United States Code); or 

7 (B) a bona fide private membership club 

8 (other than a labor organization) which is ex9 empt from taxation under section 501(c) of the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

12 an individual employed by an employer, except that 

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

14 elected to public office in any State or political sub15 division of any State by the qualified voters thereof, 

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

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

18 making level or an immediate adviser with respect to 

19 the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of 

20 the office. The exemption set forth in the preceding 

21 sentence shall not include employees subject to the 

22 civil service laws of a State government, govern23 mental agency or political subdivision. With respect 

24 to employment in a foreign country, such term inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Mar 31, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S852.IS S852

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1 cludes an individual who is a citizen of the United 

2 States. 

Æ 


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