02.14.2025
BY: Nora Pasin, Jonathan Judge
In March of 2022, new legislation curtailing the arbitration of sexual harassment and sexual assault claims, titled the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) was passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Biden. The bipartisan motivation behind EFAA was to give survivors of sexual abuse their day in court and eliminate the secretive element of arbitration that often shields these accusations from public scrutiny. Since then, courts have continued to work out the scope of EFAA.
Recently, the California Court of Appeal held that the EFAA preempts attempts under State law to compel arbitration of cases relating to a sexual harassment dispute. (Casey v. Superior Ct. of Contra Costa Cnty., No. A170650 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2025))
In this case, Petitioner Kristin Casey filed a FEHA lawsuit against her former employer, D.R. Horton, and one of its employees, alleging sexual harassment and other claims. Casey’s claims included allegations that the named employee made a series of unwanted sexual remarks towards her. D.R. Horton filed a motion to compel arbitration, and the named employee joined, arguing that parties’ arbitration agreement relied on California law, not federal law. Casey opposed, relying on EFAA to support her position that she was not required to arbitrate her claims. The trial court granted the motion to compel arbitration, reasoning that EFAA was inapplicable...
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