# What the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act Does

This law prevents companies from forcing employees and customers to handle sexual assault and sexual harassment cases through private arbitration instead of going to court. Here's what that means in plain terms: if you experience sexual assault or harassment at work or as a customer, your employer or the company can no longer require you to settle the dispute secretly with an arbitrator behind closed doors. Instead, you get to choose whether to take your case to court where it becomes part of the public record, or you can still use arbitration if you want to.

Before this law passed, many employment contracts and customer agreements included arbitration clauses—fine print that said if anything goes wrong, you have to work it out with a private arbitrator rather than a judge and jury. This meant sexual harassment and assault cases stayed hidden, the company avoided public scrutiny, and victims had fewer protections than they would in court. The law changes this specifically for sexual assault and sexual harassment claims, giving people back the right to pursue their cases publicly if they choose.

The practical impact is significant for workers and customers. You now have more power in these situations because you can decide whether to go public with your case, which can pressure companies to take complaints seriously and settle fairly. Public court cases also create a record that can warn other people about problematic companies. However, the law only applies to new cases and new contracts going forward—it doesn't automatically reopen old cases that were already settled through arbitration. Additionally, people can still voluntarily choose arbitration if they want to; the law just removes the requirement that forces them into it.

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021

Bustos, Cheri

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 This bill invalidates arbitration agreements that preclude a party from filing a lawsuit in court involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.