Cases of Note

President Joe Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act , or H.R. 4445 into law on March 3, 2022 at a White House ceremony. The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act and allows employees subject to pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements to pursue their claims in court related to sexual assault or sexual harassment.  As the #MeToo movement brought to light, in the worst cases, arbitration and nondisclosure agreements can shield serial harassers from accountability and allow them to habitually abuse employees. Court decisions and orders make the identity of violators of the law and their conduct public, which can serve to influence behavior and deter sexual harassment and assault from occurring in the first place. Some of America’s most prominent employers have already voluntarily discontinued mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment claims, and several states have passed laws directed at restricting mandatory arbitration of harassm