Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act
The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act would remove the enforceability of predispute arbitration agreements and predispute joint-action waivers for certain kinds of disputes. Specifically, it would add a new Chapter 5 to Title 9 of the U.S. Code, making arbitration agreements that require arbitration of future employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes invalid and unenforceable. The act directs that whether it applies to a dispute is determined by federal law, and that courts—not arbitrators—decide the enforceability and applicability of this chapter. It also preserves arbitration provisions in labor contracts under a collective bargaining agreement, with the constraint that such provisions cannot waive constitutional rights. The effective date is immediate upon enactment, and the law applies to disputes arising after that date (not retroactively).
Key Points
- 1Prohibits predispute arbitration agreements for four dispute types: employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes.
- 2Prohibits predispute joint-action waivers, which would bar individuals from participating in class, collective, or joint actions related to disputes that have not yet arisen.
- 3Requires courts to determine the applicability and validity of these provisions under federal law; arbitrators do not decide enforceability when this chapter applies.
- 4Maintains arbitration provisions in contracts between employers and labor unions or between labor organizations, but blocks any such provision from waiving a worker’s right to judicial enforcement of constitutional or statutorily protected rights.
- 5Adds specific definitions for key terms (e.g., what counts as an employment dispute, civil rights dispute, consumer dispute, antitrust dispute, and what constitutes predispute arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers) to guide application.