COVID–19 Justice and Accountability Act
Bill: H.R.595 | Sponsor: Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. (D-IL)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
COVID-19 Justice and Accountability Act
This bill provides a cause of action for harm suffered as a result of a violation of certain federal laws relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and suspends certain predispute arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Specifically, individuals may bring a cause of action in U.S. district court against any person for harm suffered as a result of a violation of, or a failure to comply with, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021.
Further, during the COVID-19 public health emergency period and 180 days thereafter, no predispute arbitration agreement or joint-action waiver (an agreement to waive the right to participate in a joint, class, or collective action) is valid or enforceable with respect to employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes.

To provide a cause of action for violations of laws related to COVID-
                      19, 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 ``COVID-19 Justice and Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CAUSE OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF COVID-19 LAWS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual may bring 
a cause of action in the appropriate district court of the United 
States against any person who violates or fails to comply with a 
requirement under the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136), the Families 
First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127), or the Coronavirus 
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 
116-260), or an amendment made by each such Act, for harm that the 
individual suffered as a result of such violation or failure.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ARBITRATION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this law, 
during the covered emergency period 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 section 
        applies with respect to a dispute shall be determined under 
        Federal law. 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 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 
        section shall apply to any arbitration 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 provision of 
        the Constitution of the United States, a State constitution, or 
        a Federal or State statute, or public policy arising therefrom.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``covered emergency period'' means the period 
        beginning on the date on which the President declared a 
        national emergency under the National Emergencies Act (50 
        U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 
        2019 (COVID-19) and ending on the date that is 180 days after 
        such emergency is terminated.
            (2) The term ``antitrust dispute'' means a dispute--
                    (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 certification as a 
                class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
                Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State 
                law.
            (3) 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; and
                            (ii) any Federal, State, or local law that 
                        prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
                        sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, 
                        disability, religion, national origin, or any 
                        legally protected status in education, 
                        employment, credit, housing, public 
                        accommodations and facilities, voting, veterans 
                        or servicemembers, health care, or a program 
                        funded or conducted by the Federal Government 
                        or 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 but that relate to protecting 
                        individuals on any such basis; and
                    (B) in which at least one party alleging a 
                violation described in subparagraph (A) is one or more 
                individuals (or their authorized representative), 
                including one 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.
            (4) The term ``consumer dispute'' means a dispute between--
                    (A) one or more individuals who seek or acquire 
                real or personal property, services (including services 
                related to digital technology), securities or other 
                investments, money, or credit for personal, family, or 
                household purposes including an individual or 
                individuals who seek certification as a class under 
                rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a 
                comparable rule or provision of State law; and
                    (B)(i) the seller or provider of such property, 
                services, securities or other investments, money, or 
                credit; or
                    (ii) a third party involved in the selling, 
                providing of, payment for, receipt or use of 
                information about, or other relationship to any such 
                property, services, securities or other investments, 
                money, or credit.
            (5) 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 discipline or 
        discharge in connection with, such work, regardless of whether 
        the individual is or would be classified as an employee or an 
        independent contractor with respect to such work, and including 
        a dispute arising under 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 but 
        that relate to protecting 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 under section 16(b) 
        of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or a comparable rule or 
        provision of State law.
            (6) 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.
            (7) 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.
    (d) Application.--This section shall apply with respect to any 
dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date on which 
the covered emergency period began.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit the use of arbitration on a voluntary basis after 
the dispute arises.
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