,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ahdd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #g1 #bjac ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,loebsack1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,braley of ,iowa1 ,ms4 ,pingree of ,maine1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,hastings of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,ms4 ,tsongas1 ,mr4 ,price of ,north ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,chu1 ,mr4 ,lynch1 ,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,mr4 ,sarbanes1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 and ,ms4 ,lofgren7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #i of the ,united ,states ,code with respect to arbitration4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,arbitration ,fairness ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,federal ,arbitration ,act 7now enacted as chapter #a of title #i of the ,united ,states ,code7 was intended to apply to disputes between commercial entities of generally similar sophistication and bargaining power4 7#b7 ,a series of decisions by the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states have interpreted the ,act so that it now extends to consumer disputes and employment disputes1 contrary to the intent of ,congress4 7#c7 ,most consumers and employees have little or no meaningful choice whether to submit their claims to arbitration4 ,often1 consumers and employees are not even aware that they have given up their rights4 7#d7 ,mandatory arbitration undermines the development of public law because there is inadequate transparency and inadequate judicial review of arbitrators' decisions4 7#e7 ,arbitration can be an acceptable alternative when consent to the arbitration is truly voluntary1 and occurs after the dispute arises4 #c4 ,arbitration of employment1 consumer1 antitrust1 and civil rights disputes 7a7 ,in general ,title #i of the ,united ,states ,code is amended by adding at the end the following3 #d ,arbitration of employment1 consumer1 antitrust1 and civil rights disputes ,sec4 #dja4 ,definitions4 #djb4 ,validity and enforceability4 #dja4 ,definitions ,in this chapter-- 7#a7 the term antitrust dispute means a dispute-- 7,a7 involving a claim for damages allegedly caused by a violation of the antitrust laws 7as defined in subsection 7a7 of the first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab77 or ,state antitrust laws2 and 7,b7 in which the plaintiffs seek certification as a class under rule #bc of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure or a comparable rule or provision of ,state law2 7#b7 the term civil rights dispute means a dispute-- 7,a7 arising under-- 7i7 the ,constitution of the ,united ,states or the constitution of a ,state2 or 7ii7 a ,federal or ,state statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race1 sex1 disability1 religion1 national origin1 or any invidious basis in education1 employment1 credit1 housing1 public accommodations and facilities1 voting1 or program funded or conducted by the ,federal ,government or ,state government1 including any statute enforced by the ,civil ,rights ,division of the ,department of ,justice and any statute enumerated in section #fb7;e7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf 7relating to unlawful discrimination72 and 7,b7 in which at least #a party alleging a violation of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 a ,state constitution1 or a statute prohibiting discrimination is an individual2 7#c7 the term consumer dispute means a dispute between an individual who seeks or acquires real or personal property1 services 7including services relating to securities and other investments71 money1 or credit for personal1 family1 or household purposes and the seller or provider of such property1 services1 money1 or credit2 7#d7 the term employment dispute means a dispute between an employer and employee arising out of the relationship of employer and employee as defined in section #c of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjc72 and 7#e7 the term predispute arbitration agreement means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that had not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agreement4 #djb4 ,validity and enforceability 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of this title1 no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment dispute1 consumer dispute1 antitrust dispute1 or civil rights dispute4 7b7 ,applicability 7#a7 ,in general ,an issue as to whether this chapter applies to an arbitration agreement shall be determined under ,federal law4 ,the applicability of this chapter to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity and enforceability of an agreement to which this chapter applies shall be determined by a court1 rather than an arbitrator1 irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement4 7#b7 ,collective bargaining agreements ,nothing in this chapter shall apply to any arbitration provision in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations1 except that no such arbitration provision shall have the effect of waiving the right of an employee to seek judicial enforcement of a right arising under a provision of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 a ,state constitution1 or a ,federal or ,state statute1 or public policy arising therefrom4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendments 7#a7 ,in general ,title #i of the ,united ,states ,code is amended-- 7,a7 in section #a1 by striking of seamen1 and all that follows through interstate commerce2 7,b7 in section #b1 by inserting or as otherwise provided in chapter #d before the period at the end2 7,c7 in section #bjh-- 7i7 in the section heading1 by striking ,chapter #a2 residual application and inserting ,application2 and 7ii7 by adding at the end the following3 ,this chapter applies to the extent that this chapter is not in conflict with chapter #d42 and 7,d7 in section #cjg-- 7i7 in the section heading1 by striking ,chapter #a2 residual application and inserting ,application2 and 7ii7 by adding at the end the following3 ,this chapter applies to the extent that this chapter is not in conflict with chapter #d44 7#b7 ,table of sections 7,a7 ,chapter #b ,the table of sections for chapter #b of title #i1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking the item relating to section #bjh and inserting the following3 #bjh4 ,application4 4 7,b7 ,chapter #c ,the table of sections for chapter #c of title #i1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking the item relating to section #cjg and inserting the following3 #cjg4 ,application4 4 7#c7 ,table of chapters ,the table of chapters for title #i1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #d4 ,arbitration of employment1 consumer1 antitrust1 and civil rights disputes#dja 4 #d4 ,effective date ,this ,act1 and the amendments made by this ,act1 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act and shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises on or after such date4