IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1423 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
AN ACT 
To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect 
to arbitration. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forced Arbitration In-
justice Repeal Act’’ or the ‘‘FAIR Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) prohibit predispute arbitration agreements 
that force arbitration of future employment, con-
sumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes; and 
(2) prohibit agreements and practices that 
interfere with the right of individuals, workers, and 
small businesses to participate in a joint, class, or 
collective action related to an employment, con-
sumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute. 
SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSUMER, ANTI-
TRUST, AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States Code 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘CHAPTER 4—ARBITRATION OF EMPLOY-
MENT, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST, AND 
CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘401. Definitions. 
‘‘402. No validity or enforceability. 
‘‘§ 401. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘antitrust dispute’ means a dis-
pute— 
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‘‘(A) arising from an alleged violation of 
the antitrust laws (as defined in subsection (a) 
of the first section of the Clayton Act) or State 
antitrust laws; and 
‘‘(B) in which the plaintiffs seek certifi-
cation as a class under rule 23 of the Federal 
Rules of Civil Procedure or a comparable rule 
or provision of State law; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘civil rights dispute’ means a dis-
pute— 
‘‘(A) arising from an alleged violation of— 
‘‘(i) the Constitution of the United 
States or the constitution of a State; 
‘‘(ii) any Federal, State, or local law 
that prohibits discrimination on the basis 
of race, sex, age, gender identity, sexual 
orientation, disability, religion, national or-
igin, or any legally protected status in edu-
cation, employment, credit, housing, public 
accommodations and facilities, voting, vet-
erans or servicemembers, health care, or a 
program funded or conducted by the Fed-
eral Government or State government, in-
cluding any law referred to or described in 
section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code 
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‘‘(ii) a third party involved in the selling, 
providing of, payment for, receipt or use of in-
formation about, or other relationship to any 
such property, services, securities or other in-
vestments, money, or credit; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘employment dispute’ means a 
dispute between one or more individuals (or their 
authorized representative) and a person arising out 
of or related to the work relationship or prospective 
work relationship between them, including a dispute 
regarding the terms of or payment for, advertising 
of, recruiting for, referring of, arranging for, or dis-
cipline or discharge in connection with, such work, 
regardless of whether the individual is or would be 
classified as an employee or an independent con-
tractor with respect to such work, and including a 
dispute arising under any law referred to or de-
scribed in section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, including parts of such law not explic-
itly referenced in such section but that relate to pro-
tecting individuals on any such basis, and including 
a dispute in which an individual or individuals seek 
certification as a class under rule 23 of the Federal 
Rules of Civil Procedure or as a collective action 
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under section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act, or a comparable rule or provision of State law; 
‘‘(5) the term ‘predispute arbitration agree-
ment’ means an agreement to arbitrate a dispute 
that has not yet arisen at the time of the making 
of the agreement; and 
‘‘(6) the term ‘predispute joint-action waiver’ 
means an agreement, whether or not part of a 
predispute arbitration agreement, that would pro-
hibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the 
agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collec-
tive 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. 
‘‘§ 402. No validity or enforceability 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of this title, no predispute arbitration agreement or 
predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable 
with respect to an employment dispute, consumer dispute, 
antitrust dispute, or civil rights dispute. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An issue as to whether this 
chapter applies with respect to a dispute shall be de-
termined under Federal law. The applicability of this 
chapter to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity 
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and enforceability of an agreement to which this 
chapter applies shall be determined by a court, rath-
er 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 agreement, 
and irrespective of whether the agreement purports 
to delegate such determinations to an arbitrator. 
‘‘(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.— 
Nothing in this chapter shall apply to any arbitra-
tion provision in a contract between an employer and 
a labor organization or between labor organizations, 
except that no such arbitration provision shall have 
the effect of waiving the right of a worker to seek 
judicial enforcement of a right arising under a provi-
sion of the Constitution of the United States, a 
State constitution, or a Federal or State statute, or 
public policy arising therefrom.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title 9 of the United States 
Code is amended— 
(A) in section 1 by striking ‘‘of seamen,’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘interstate com-
merce’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘of individ-
uals, regardless of whether such individuals are 
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designated as employees or independent con-
tractors for other purposes’’; 
(B) in section 2 by inserting ‘‘or as other-
wise provided in chapter 4’’ before the period at 
the end; 
(C) in section 208— 
(i) in the section heading by striking 
‘‘CHAPTER
1; 
RESIDUAL
APPLICA-
TION’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’; 
and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent 
that this chapter is not in conflict with 
chapter 4.’’; and 
(D) in section 307— 
(i) in the section heading by striking 
‘‘CHAPTER
1; 
RESIDUAL
APPLICA-
TION’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICATION’’; 
and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘This chapter applies to the extent 
that this chapter is not in conflict with 
chapter 4.’’. 
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.— 
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(A) CHAPTER 2.—The table of sections of 
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 of 
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 chap-
ters of title 9, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘4. Arbitration of Employment, Consumer, Antitrust, and Civil Rights 
Disputes ........................................................................
401’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 
shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and 
shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises 
or accrues on or after such date. 
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SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 
Act, shall be construed to prohibit the use of arbitration 
on a voluntary basis after the dispute arises. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 
2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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