On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.” The law, which had bipartisan congressional support, ends the practice of including claims for “sexual assault” and “sexual harassment” (defined terms in the new law)[1] within the class of employment disputes that can be subject to mandatory, forced arbitration.

Often, arbitration agreements require employees to submit to private, confidential arbitration to resolve a variety of workplace disputes (i.e., claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage & hour violations, etc.). Arbitration agreements generally prohibit employees from filing a civil lawsuit against their employer and from having their “day in court” in the traditional sense. This standard practice applies to millions of employees across the nation. Historically, employers touted arbitration as a more efficient, cost-effective, and timely means of resolving employment disputes. Arbitration’s proponents also regard it as producing more consistent and less volatile results than traditional jury trials. The new law specifically amends the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and makes pre-dispute arbitration agreements between employers and employees that would otherwise obligate the parties to arbitrate claims of sexual misconduct unenforceable (with respect to those claims only).

Now, all forced arbitration provisions that pertain to sexual misconduct are deemed void, including...

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