Title: Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017
This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a sex discrimination dispute.
The prohibition does not apply to an arbitration provision in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations, subject to limitations.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2203 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2203

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 6, 2017

 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Graham, Ms. Harris, Ms. Murkowski, 
Mr. Durbin, Ms. Heitkamp, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration.

    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 
Harassment Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES.

    (a) In General.--Title 9 of the United States Code is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

        ``CHAPTER 4--ARBITRATION OF SEX DISCRIMINATION DISPUTES

``Sec.
``401. Definitions.
``402. Validity and enforceability.
``Sec. 401. Definitions
    ``In this chapter--
            ``(1) 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; and
            ``(2) the term `sex discrimination dispute' means a dispute 
        between an employer and employee arising out of conduct that 
        would form the basis of a claim based on sex under title VII of 
        the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) if the 
        employment were employment by an employer (as defined in 
        section 701(b) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b))), regardless of 
        whether a violation of such title VII is alleged.
``Sec. 402. Validity and enforceability
    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b)(2), and 
notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no predispute 
arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires 
arbitration of a sex discrimination dispute.
    ``(b) Applicability.--
            ``(1) In general.--An issue as to whether this chapter 
        applies to an arbitration agreement 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 agreement.
            ``(2) Collective bargaining agreements.--Nothing in this 
        chapter 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 an employee 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.''.
    (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 ``Application''; 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 ``Application''; 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 sex discrimination disputes.............     401''.

SEC. 3. 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 on or after such date.
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