The House of Representatives on Monday night voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that would effectively end forced arbitration in sexual assault and harassment claims brought by victims.
On Thursday, the Senate passed the bill by voice vote, sending the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
The bill, known as H.R.4445, Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, passed with a largely bipartisan 335-97 vote, with 113 Republicans joining every House Democrat to pass the bill. All 97 “no” votes came from Republican members of the House.
The bill centers on arbitration clauses or agreements in contracts, which require that employees or consumers who have a dispute with a company that they’ve signed an agreement with must take their dispute to arbitration instead of a court.
Critics of the practice have said that too many companies are using arbitration to sweep such matters under the rug.
“More than 60 million Americans are subjected to forced arbitration clauses in the workplace, preventing them from choosing how to seek justice for wrongful and abusive treatment,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “Survivors should have the opportunity to use their voices however they see fit.”
“We’ve heard a flood of stories of sexual assault and harassment that has gone unchecked for far too long,” said Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, who introduced the legislation. “But little known legal agreements hidden in all sorts of places have continued to bar millions of Americans from speaking out or seeking justice.”
“From employment paperwork and lease agreements to the terms and conditions for apps and services, the majority of Americans have unknowingly signed their rights away,” Bustos added. “Nullifying these ‘forced arbitration’ clauses for sexual assault and harassment claims will let survivors’ voices be heard.”
The bill has the staunch support of President Joe Biden and his administration, as well as an unlikely cadre of Democrats and Republicans — specifically, New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Gillibrand said that Graham approached her after hearing about former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson’s case. Carlson filed a lawsuit against Roger Ailes in 2016, the former head of the network, alleging sexual harassment, which was settled for $20 million. Her case was one of the first to shine a spotlight on the issue forced arbitration. Carlson previously testified before Congress about her experience with forced arbitration and has become an advocate to ban those practices in employment agreements.
“It was a dark day when my lawyers told me you have no case because you have an arbitration clause. And you’re going to go over here to the secret chamber, and nobody’s ever going to hear from you ever again,” Carlson said in an interview with Spectrum News.
“He was really disturbed by what happened at Fox News,” Gillibrand said of Graham. “He felt like this was a place where there was definitely common ground.”
Carlson told Spectrum News seeing the bill pass Congress will be her “greatest life achievement.”
“Hopefully, this will serve as a deterrent for bad behavior,” Carlson added. “Now that perpetrators or harassers know that people have a voice inside the workplace, they just might not do the behavior.”
“This is about helping workers have a safe place to work,” Gillibrand told Spectrum News. “You’re entitled to all these rights and privileges of being able to go to a court of law, being able to be public about what’s happened to you.”
Gillibrand said the fight will not be over once the president signs the bill into law. She also wants to take aim at arbitration requirements for other forms of harassment, including racial and age discrimination.
“It’s essential that we protect all workers from all discrimination and all harassment,” she added.
But some Republicans have voiced their opposition to the bill, claiming it would lead to the federal government encroaching on private workplace matters.
“What’s happened to so many women and others in the workplace is terrible, but I really am concerned that by involving the government in these contracts between adults in the area of sexual harassment and assault, we’re opening the door for more government involvement in other areas of contracts,” Minnesota Rep. Michelle Fischbach said at a House Judiciary Hearing on forced arbitrations in November of last year.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Monday night that the bill will result in women “to lose the potential benefits of arbitration.”
“Lawsuits are normally long and costly, and companies often have enough money to vigorously defend these claims,” Rep. Jordan said, calling such suits “an ordeal for victims” and saying that arbitration “can be a welcomed alternative to the rigors and trauma of litigation.”
The White House has indicated that the president will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.
“This legislation advances efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment and sexual assault, strengthen rights, protect victims, and promote access to justice,” the White House said in a statement of support for the bill released earlier this month. “The Administration is committed to eliminating sexual harassment and assault, and looks forward to working with the Congress on the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act as it proceeds through the legislative process.”
The Biden Administration said it “also looks forward to working with the Congress on broader legislation that addresses these issues as well as other forced arbitration matters, including arbitration of claims regarding discrimination on the basis of race, wage theft, and unfair labor practices.”
Spectrum News’ Angi Gonzalez contributed to this report.
