Title: Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021
This bill invalidates arbitration agreements that preclude a party from filing a lawsuit in court involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4445 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4445

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration 
      of disputes involving sexual assault and sexual harassment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2021

Mrs. Bustos (for herself, Mr. Griffith, Ms. Jayapal, and Mr. Cicilline) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.
``Sec. 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 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.
            ``(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 any of the 
        following conduct directed at an individual or a group of 
        individuals:
                    ``(A) Unwelcome sexual advances.
                    ``(B) Unwanted physical contact that is sexual in 
                nature, including assault.
                    ``(C) Unwanted sexual attention, including unwanted 
                sexual comments and propositions for sexual activity.
                    ``(D) Conditioning professional, educational, 
                consumer, health care or long-term care benefits on 
                sexual activity.
                    ``(E) Retaliation for rejecting unwanted sexual 
                attention.
``Sec. 402. No validity or enforceability
    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), and 
notwithstanding any other provision of this title, 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 a sexual assault dispute or a 
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 agreement, and 
irrespective of whether the agreement purports to delegate such 
determinations to an arbitrator.
    ``(c) Exception for 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 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 disputes involving sexual assault and        401''.
                            sexual harassment.

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.
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