Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act

The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act of 2019, also known as The FAIR ACT, is comprehensive legislation which prohibits pre-dispute, forced arbitration agreements from being valid or enforceable if it requires forced arbitration of an employment, consumer, or civil rights claim against a corporation. The bill was introduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 1423 and S. 610. The bill’s sponsors include Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Similar versions of this bill were previously introduced in the 115th United States Congress as H.R. 1374 and S. 2591. The FAIR Act passed the House of Representatives on September 20, 2019, by a vote of 225 to 186.

Background
Forced arbitration clauses are commonly found in contracts between individuals and businesses. In cases where individuals bring legal claims against their employer or a business, forced arbitration generally prohibits them from the choice of taking such claims to be heard in court and instead to closed-door arbitration proceedings, where they are less likely to receive an impartial hearing.

Some employers have removed provisions from contracts subjecting their employees to forced arbitration amid public pressure regarding concerns that the practice inhibits the rights of workers to hold their employer accountable for allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft. In November of 2018, over 20,000 employees of the technology giant Google organized a walkout protest against the company in response to Google’s policies around “equity and transparency in the workplace,” which includes forced arbitration in worker contracts. In February 2019, Google announced they were ending their policy of forced arbitration for full-time employees.