Companies no longer will be able to require arbitration to settle claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, under a new law signed by President Biden Thursday.
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act encompasses a variety of contracts, including long-term care facility arbitration agreements.
“Forced arbitration silences survivors of sexual assault and harassment. It shields predators instead of holding them accountable and gives corporations a powerful tool to hide abuse and misconduct. And it compels the people of our nation — and most often the women of our nation — to sign away one of their most fundamental rights: the right to seek justice in court,” Vice-President Harris remarked at the signing ceremony.
Long-term care facilities that require arbitration agreements “should consider whether carve outs for sexual abuse or harassment are warranted,” attorneys Norris Cunningham and Barb Killian advised in a recent guest column for McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. ”Carve outs would prevent a situation where allegations of sexual abuse are made to void an otherwise enforceable arbitration agreement for claims that related to care and treatment.”
The act to void require arbitration agreements had widespread bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House. Most forced arbitration proceedings were held behind closed doors and parties were held to non-disclosure agreements.
Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) initially introduced the bill in the House in 2017 amid the rise of the #MeToo movement. Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the legislation in the Senate.
“This law will affect the more than 60 million workers who are subject to mandatory arbitration clauses in the workplace, often without realizing it until they come forward with a claim against their employer,” White House Press Secretary Jan Psaki stated Thursday. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte A. Burrows commented that “[f]or too long, enforcement of pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements has served as a potential barrier to justice for individuals who have suffered assault or harassment at work.”
