On March 3, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The bill adds a new Chapter 4 to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), a law passed in 1925 to ensure that courts would enforce arbitration agreements contained in maritime contracts or other contracts “evidencing a transaction involving commerce.” Despite this narrow language, the Supreme Court has held that the FAA applies to all employment contracts, which means that employees may be forced to arbitrate discrimination and harassment claims. The new law provides an employee with the option to file a sexual harassment or assault claim in court even if the individual entered into an arbitration agreement before the harassment or assault occurred. This is a positive change for employees, as courts often offer greater protections than forced arbitration designed by the employer.
When two parties have a legal dispute, they can choose to resolve it through arbitration instead of a lawsuit in court. Arbitration is a private process in which one or more neutral third-parties hear both sides of the dispute and decide the outcome, much like a judge does. The parties agree via contract that they will abide by the arbitrator’s decision, so the outcome is binding even though arbitrators are not active judges and therefore do not have any authority to enforce their decisions the way courts do as a...
New television ads misleadingly accuse Democratic Senate candidates of voting to enrich big insurance companies. The spots are being run by the Trump-affiliated No Going Back PAC and target New Ham...