NEWS

US Congress passes Bill to end forced arbitration in sexual assault, harassment cases

DETAILS

WHAT IS FORCED ARBITRATION?

“Any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that had not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agreement”

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BILL

• Often employee contracts contain arbitration provisions that limit what they are allowed to say in public about workplace disputes such as those pertaining to sexual harassment or racial discrimination.
• It allows companies to settle disputes through an arbitrator – an independent body, usually comprising lawyers or retired judges – behind closed doors, instead of allowing its employees to pursue legal action publicly.
• Nulls both predispute arbitration agreement and predispute joint-action waiver (which may or may not be part of the arbitration agreement).
• It is based on recent #MeToo case