She'd already signed away her day in court - then discovery changed everything
An arbitration agreement didn't stop a former chief financial officer (CFO) from taking her sex discrimination and harassment claims to a federal court.
On August 19, 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling denying the employer's motion to force the dispute into arbitration.
The decision turned on the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, known as the EFAA. The law lets workers who allege sexual harassment or assault cancel a predispute arbitration agreement and sue in court instead.
Structure Therapeutics, a clinical drug developer, argued the former CFO had given up that option. She first filed for arbitration in October 2022, raising discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims tied to her national origin and her status as a domestic violence victim. Over the following year, the two sides held hearings, ran discovery, and fought over it.
Only during that discovery, the court said, did she find evidence that her treatment was based on her sex. She withdrew from arbitration and, in March 2024, filed a sex discrimination and hostile work environment complaint in California state court.
The company said she had spent her single "election" under the EFAA the moment she chose arbitration. The panel disagreed. Because she was not yet alleging sexual harassment when she filed for arbitration, the court held, she had not...
By Kate Yandell ANALYSIS — Studies have shown no connection between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and increased risk of miscarriage. Despite this, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnso...