,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cfae  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ad1 
#bjah ,mrs4 ,murray 7for herself1 ,mr4  
,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4        
,booker1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,ms4 ,cortez      
,masto1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,harris1
 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4       
,markey1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4
 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,ms4 ,warren1  
,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 and ,ms4 
,smith7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
prohibit forced arbitration in          
employment disputes1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title  ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,restoring ,justice 
for ,workers ,act4  #b4 ,findings       
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,millions of employees are currently    
forced to accept1 as a condition of     
employment1 contractual provisions that 
block their access to the courts or     

prohibit them from joining together with
 other employees to seek joint1 class1  
or collective relief for violations of  
their rights4 ,this has led to          
widespread nonenforcement of employees' 
rights and has permitted significant    
violations of those rights to continue  
unabated4  7#b7 ,most employees have    
little or no meaningful choice regarding
 whether to accept these provisions4    
,often1 employees are not even aware    
that they have given up the right to    
seek recourse in court or have waived   
their right to join other employees in  
joint1 class1 or collective actions4    
7#c7 ,the ,federal ,arbitration ,act    
7now enacted as chapter #a of title #i1 
,united ,states ,code7 was intended to  
apply to disputes between commercial    
entities of generally similar           
sophistication and bargaining power4    
,despite this congressional intent1 the 
,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states  
has interpreted the ,federal            
,arbitration ,act so that it now extends

 to employment disputes4  7#d7 ,the     
,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi   
,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 protects        
employees' right to engage in concerted 
activities for the purpose of mutual aid
 or protection4 ,this was intended and  
long understood to encompass employees' 
right to collectively seek relief for   
violations of their workplace rights4   
,however1 contrary to the plain text of 
the law and congressional intent1 the   
,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states1 
in ,epic ,systems ,corp4 v4 ,lewis1 #ach
 ,s4 ,ct4 #afab 7#bjah71 decided that   
employees may be forced1 as a condition 
of employment1 to waive their right to  
collectively litigate employment        
actions4  7#e7 ,forced individual       
dispute resolution undermines employees'
 rights and exacerbates the inequality  
of bargaining power between employees   
and employers because joining a joint1  
class1 or collective action is often the
 only way employees can afford to seek  
relief for violations of their rights4  

7#f7 ,employees who are forced to submit
 to individual dispute resolution often 
seek no redress at all due to           
well-founded fear of retaliation4  7#g7 
,protecting the rights of employees to  
individually or concertedly seek relief 
for violations of their labor rights    
through the justice system protects the 
public interest and safeguards commerce 
from injury4  #c4 ,purposes ,the        
purposes of this ,act are to-- 7#a7     
prohibit predispute arbitration         
agreements that require arbitration of  
employment disputes2  7#b7 prohibit     
retaliation against employees for       
refusing to arbitrate employment        
disputes2  7#c7 provide protections to  
ensure that postdispute arbitration     
agreements are truly voluntary and with 
the informed consent of employees2 and  
7#d7 amend the ,national ,labor         
,relations ,act to prohibit agreements  
and practices that interfere with       
employees' right to collectively        
litigate employment disputes4  #d4      

,protection of concerted activity       
,section #h7;a7 of the ,national ,labor 
,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aeh7;a77
 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#e71 by
 striking the period at the end and     
inserting 2 and2 and  7#b7 by adding at 
the end the following3  7#f7 7,a7 to    
enter into or attempt to enforce any    
agreement1 express or implied1 whereby  
prior to a dispute to which the         
agreement applies1 an employee          
undertakes or promises not to pursue1   
bring1 join1 litigate1 or support any   
kind of joint1 class1 or collective     
legal action arising from or relating to
 the employment of such employee in any 
forum that1 but for such agreement1 is  
of competent jurisdiction2 or  7,b7 to  
retaliate or threaten to retaliate      
against an employee for refusing to     
undertake or promise not to pursue1     
bring1 join1 litigate1 or support any   
kind of joint1 class1 or collective     
legal action arising from or relating to
 the employment of such employee3       

,provided1 ,that any agreement that     
violates this paragraph or results from 
a violation of this paragraph shall be  
to such extent unenforceable and void3  
,provided further1 ,that this paragraph 
shall not apply to any agreement        
embodied in or expressly permitted by a 
contract between an employer and a labor
 organization4  4  #e4 ,arbitration of  
employment disputes  7a7 ,in general    
,title #i of the ,united ,states ,code  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  #d ,arbitration of          
employment disputes  ,sec4 #dja4        
,definitions4 #djb4 ,validity and       
enforceability4  #dja4 ,definitions ,in 
this chapter--  7#a7 the terms commerce1
 employee1 and employer have the        
meanings given the terms in section #c  
of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of  
#aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjc72  7#b7 the   
term employment dispute means a dispute 
between an employer and an employee     
arising from or relating to the         
employment of the employee1 and includes

 disputes that arise under common law or
 from the alleged violation of the      
,constitution of the ,united ,states1   
the constitution of a ,state1 or a      
,federal1 ,state1 territorial1 county1  
or municipal statute2  7#c7 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 agreement2 and  7#d7  
the term postdispute arbitration        
agreement means any agreement to        
arbitrate a dispute that arose before   
the time of the making of the agreement4
  #djb4 ,validity and enforceability    
7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any    
other chapter of this title-- 7#a7 no   
predispute arbitration agreement shall  
be valid or enforceable if it requires  
arbitration of an employment dispute2   
7#b7 no postdispute arbitration         
agreement that requires arbitration of  
an employment dispute shall be valid or 
enforceable unless--  7,a7 the agreement
 was not required by the employer1      

obtained by coercion or threat of       
adverse action1 or made a condition of  
employment or any employment-related    
privilege or benefit2  7,b7 each        
employee entering into the agreement was
 informed in writing using sufficiently 
plain language likely to be understood  
by the average employee of--  7i7 the   
right of the employee under paragraph   
7#c7 to refuse to enter the agreement   
without retaliation2 and  7ii7 the      
protections under section #h7;a77#f7 of 
the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act    
7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aeh7;a77#f772  7,c7 each
 employee entering into the agreement   
entered the agreement after a waiting   
period of not fewer than #de days1      
beginning on the date on which the      
employee was provided both the final    
text of the agreement and the           
disclosures required under subparagraph 
7,b72 and  7,d7 each employee entering  
into the agreement affirmatively        
consented to the agreement in writing2  
and  7#c7 no employer may retaliate or  

threaten to retaliate against an        
employee for refusing to enter into an  
agreement that provides for arbitration 
of an employment dispute4  7b7 ,statute 
of limitations ,during the waiting      
period described in subsection          
7a77#b77;,c71 the statute of limitations
 for any claims that arise from or form 
the basis for the applicable employment 
dispute shall be tolled4  7c7 ,civil    
action ,any person who is injured by    
reason of a violation of subsection     
7a77#c7 may bring a civil action in the 
appropriate district court of the       
,united ,states against the employer    
within #b years of the violation1 or    
within #c years if such violation is    
willful4 ,relief granted in such an     
action shall include a reasonable       
attorney's fee1 other reasonable costs  
associated with maintaining the action1 
and any appropriate relief authorized by
 section #gjf7;g7 of the ,civil ,rights 
,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4            
#bjjj;e-#e7;g77 or by section           

#aigg;,a7b7 of the ,revised ,statutes   
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aiha;a7b774  7d7        
,applicability  7#a7 ,in general ,this  
chapter applies to employers and        
employees engaged in activity affecting 
commerce to the fullest extent permitted
 by the ,united ,states ,constitution4  
,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 regardless of whether any   
contractual provision delegates such    
matters to the arbitrator and           
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         
organization1 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 the constitution of a ,state1  
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     
employment disputes#dja4  4  #f4        
,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 date1 including any dispute  
or claim to which an agreement predating
 such date applies4