Sophia Serrao
Fri, 02/11/2022
On February 10, 2022, the Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, following bipartisan passage in the House of Representatives on February 7. The Act is one of the largest workplace reforms in decades and was largely inspired by the #MeToo movement. Once signed by President Biden, the Act grants survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace the choice to seek justice in court instead of being forced into arbitration.
Currently, more than 60 million people are subjected to employment contracts that require binding arbitration for claims related to sexual harassment or sexual assault. Arbitrations systemically silence survivors’ voices by forcing their claims into confidential dispute resolution without a right to appeal the arbitrator’s decision. The Act ends the use of mandatory arbitration clauses for sexual harassment and assault clams, and allows survivors to choose how they seek justice. Once signed into law, the legislation will void any mandatory arbitration clauses in current contracts that relate to claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment and companies will not be allowed to write these types of clauses into their contracts in the future. The Act will apply retroactively to existing forced arbitration clauses in ongoing cases that could make it difficult for survivors to litigate cases against their employers.
For more information on ways MSE supports victims of gender discrimination, visit our #MeToo webpage. If you are a survivor of sexual harassment or assault in the workplace and need legal support, contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
