H. R. 4445 
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two 
An Act 
To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration of disputes 
involving sexual assault and sexual harassment. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Forced Arbitration of 
Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES INVOLVING SEXUAL 
ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States Code is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘CHAPTER 4—ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES INVOLVING 
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘401. Definitions. 
‘‘402. No validity or enforceability. 
‘‘§ 401. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) PREDISPUTE
ARBITRATION
AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘predispute arbitration agreement’ means any agreement to 
arbitrate a dispute that had not yet arisen at the time of 
the making of the agreement. 
‘‘(2) 
PREDISPUTE
JOINT-ACTION
WAIVER.—The 
term 
‘predispute joint-action waiver’ means an agreement, whether 
or not part of a predispute arbitration agreement, that would 
prohibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the agree-
ment to participate in a joint, class, or collective action in 
a judicial, arbitral, administrative, or other forum, concerning 
a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the making 
of the agreement. 
‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT DISPUTE.—The term ‘sexual assault 
dispute’ means a dispute involving a nonconsensual sexual 
act or sexual contact, as such terms are defined in section 
2246 of title 18 or similar applicable Tribal or State law, 
including when the victim lacks capacity to consent. 
‘‘(4) SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
DISPUTE.—The term ‘sexual 
harassment dispute’ means a dispute relating to conduct that 
is alleged to constitute sexual harassment under applicable 
Federal, Tribal, or State law.
H. R. 4445—2 
‘‘§ 402. No validity or enforceability 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
title, at the election of the person alleging conduct constituting 
a sexual harassment dispute or sexual assault dispute, or the 
named representative of a class or in a collective action alleging 
such conduct, no predispute arbitration agreement or predispute 
joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to 
a case which is filed under Federal, Tribal, or State law and 
relates to the sexual assault dispute or the sexual harassment 
dispute. 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF APPLICABILITY.—An issue as to whether 
this chapter applies with respect to a dispute shall be determined 
under Federal law. The applicability of this chapter to an agreement 
to arbitrate and the validity and enforceability of an agreement 
to which this chapter applies shall be determined by a court, rather 
than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting 
arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in 
conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agree-
ment, and irrespective of whether the agreement purports to dele-
gate such determinations to an arbitrator.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States Code is 
amended— 
(A) in section 2, by inserting ‘‘or as otherwise provided 
in chapter 4’’ before the period at the end; 
(B) in section 208— 
(i) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘Chapter 
1; residual application’’ and inserting ‘‘Applica-
tion’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘This 
chapter applies to the extent that this chapter is not 
in conflict with chapter 4.’’; and 
(C) in section 307— 
(i) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘Chapter 
1; residual application’’ and inserting ‘‘Applica-
tion’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘This 
chapter applies to the extent that this chapter is not 
in conflict with chapter 4.’’. 
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.— 
(A) CHAPTER 2.—The table of sections for chapter 2 
of title 9, United States Code, is amended by striking 
the item relating to section 208 and inserting the following: 
‘‘208. Application.’’. 
(B) CHAPTER 3.—The table of sections for chapter 3 
of title 9, United States Code, is amended by striking 
the item relating to section 307 and inserting the following: 
‘‘307. Application.’’. 
(3) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters for title 
9, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘4. Arbitration of disputes involving sexual assault and sexual har-
assment ...................................................................................................
401’’.
H. R. 4445—3 
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY. 
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall apply 
with respect to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on 
or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.