S 2799119th CongressIn Committee

Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act

Introduced: Sep 15, 2025

Civil Rights & Justice

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act would prohibit predispute arbitration agreements and predispute class or collective action waivers for certain types of disputes. Specifically, it adds a new Chapter 5 to Title 9 of the U.S. Code to ban agreements to arbitrate disputes that have not yet arisen (predispute arbitration agreements) and to bar agreements that waive participation in joint, class, or collective actions in the contexts of employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes. The bill makes such agreements unenforceable and requires courts (not arbitrators) to decide whether the chapter applies and whether an agreement is enforceable, with the exception of collective bargaining agreements (labor unions). It applies to disputes arising on or after the date of enactment and would require related technical amendments to Title 9. Overall, the bill aims to shift disputes away from arbitration and toward court proceedings in these areas, potentially expanding access to litigation for individuals, workers, and small businesses.

Key Points

1Prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and predispute joint-action waivers for employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes; such provisions are not valid or enforceable.
2Creates a new Chapter 5 in Title 9 (Arbitration of employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights disputes) with defined dispute categories and terms, including:
3- Antitrust disputes (including class certification under Rule 23)
4- Civil rights disputes (broad protections against discrimination under federal, state, or local law)
5- Consumer disputes (transactions for personal use of goods or services)
6- Employment disputes (work or prospective work relationships, including class or collective actions)
7Courts, not arbitrators, determine applicability and enforceability of these provisions; no delegation to arbitrators for these questions.
8Excludes arbitration provisions within collective bargaining agreements, but preserves the right of workers to judicial enforcement of constitutional or statutory rights not waived.
9Technical amendments to Title 9 remove old references (e.g., “of seamen”) and add the new chapter; a table of chapters is updated to include Chapter 5.
10Effective date: the act applies to disputes that arise or accrue on or after enactment date.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Individuals, workers, and small businesses involved in employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes; particularly those who would seek class or collective action relief.Secondary group/area affected- Arbitration providers and the broader arbitration ecosystem (e.g., arbitration administrators, law firms specializing in arbitration, and corporate compliance teams) due to a potential reduction in predispute arbitration agreements.Additional impacts- Potential increase in court caseload as disputes move from arbitration to litigation.- Expanded access to class and collective actions for plaintiffs in these dispute types.- Possible shifts in negotiation dynamics between consumers/workers and companies, with less reliance on arbitration as a dispute resolution forum.- Exemption for disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements, preserving some arbitration options in labor relations, though without waiving constitutional or statutory rights.

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