Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act
Bill: S.3082 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act
This bill prohibits all pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute joint-action waivers with respect to consumer and civil rights disputes between Amtrak and its customers.

To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit Amtrak from 
 including mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts of carriage, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 Passenger Rail Forced 
Arbitration Act''.

SEC. 2. NO VALIDITY OR ENFORCEABILITY OF ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS FOR 
              CONSUMER AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 24323. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration
    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to prohibit predispute arbitration agreements that 
        force arbitration of consumer and civil rights disputes between 
        Amtrak and customers of Amtrak; and
            ``(2) to prohibit agreements and practices that interfere 
        with the right of customers to participate in a joint, class, 
        or collective action related to consumer and civil rights 
        disputes between Amtrak and customers of Amtrak.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Amtrak.--The term `Amtrak' means the National 
        Railroad Passenger Corporation.
            ``(2) Civil rights dispute.--The term `civil rights 
        dispute' means a dispute--
                    ``(A) arising from an alleged violation of--
                            ``(i) the Constitution of the United States 
                        or the constitution of a State; or
                            ``(ii) any Federal, State, or local law 
                        that prohibits discrimination on the basis of--
                                    ``(I) race, sex, age, gender 
                                identity, sexual orientation, 
                                disability, religion, or national 
                                origin; or
                                    ``(II) any legally protected status 
                                in education, employment, credit, 
                                housing, public accommodations and 
                                facilities, voting, veterans and 
                                servicemembers, health care, or a 
                                program funded or conducted by the 
                                Federal Government or a State 
                                government, including any law referred 
                                to or described in section 62(e) of the 
                                Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
                                including parts of such law not 
                                explicitly referenced in such section 
                                that relate to protecting individuals 
                                on any such basis; and
                    ``(B) in which at least 1 party alleging a 
                violation described in subparagraph (A) consists of 1 
                or more customers (or their authorized representative), 
                including 1 or more individuals seeking certification 
                as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
                Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State 
                law.
            ``(3) Consumer dispute.--The term `consumer dispute' means 
        any dispute, including all claims related to personal injuries, 
        between Amtrak and 1 or more customers who seek or acquire--
                    ``(A) services and accommodations provided by 
                Amtrak; or
                    ``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
            ``(4) Customer.--The term `customer' means any individual, 
        except for an employee of Amtrak and without regard to whether 
        the individual is a minor or paid for the transportation, who 
        seeks or acquires--
                    ``(A) services and accommodations provided by 
                Amtrak; or
                    ``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
            ``(5) Predispute arbitration agreement.--The term 
        `predispute arbitration agreement' means an agreement to 
        arbitrate a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the 
        making of the agreement.
            ``(6) 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 agreement 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.
            ``(7) Rail passenger carrier.--The term `rail passenger 
        carrier' means a rail carrier providing--
                    ``(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 
                transportation (as such term is defined in section 
                24102); or
                    ``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as 
                such term is defined in section 26105) transportation, 
                except that such term does not include a tourist, 
                historic, scenic, or excursion rail carrier.
    ``(c) In General.--
            ``(1) In general.--All predispute arbitration agreements 
        and predispute joint-action waivers shall be invalid and 
        unenforceable with respect to a consumer or civil rights 
        dispute between Amtrak (in its capacity as a rail passenger 
        carrier) and a customer of Amtrak.
            ``(2) Applicability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A determination of whether this 
                section applies to a particular dispute shall be made 
                in accordance with Federal law.
                    ``(B) Authority of court.--The applicability of 
                this section to an agreement to arbitrate and the 
                validity and enforceability of an agreement to which 
                this section applies shall be determined by a court, 
                rather than by an arbitrator, regardless of whether--
                            ``(i) the party resisting arbitration 
                        challenges the arbitration agreement 
                        specifically or in conjunction with other terms 
                        of the contract containing such agreement; and
                            ``(ii) the agreement purports to delegate 
                        such determinations to an arbitrator.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--Nothing in this section shall 
                apply to a predispute arbitration agreement or joint 
                action waiver invoked in connection with any dispute 
                subject to the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 
                seq.).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)--
            (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (2) shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that 
        arises or accrues on or after such date.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 243 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``24323. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration.''.
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