President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a bill that will effectively end forced arbitration in workplace sexual assault and harassment claims brought by victims, saying from the White House: “This is, I think, a momentous day for justice and fairness in the workplace.” 

“And for those who experience sexual harassment or assault, you're going to have the right today that you did not have yesterday, and that's good news,” he added. 


What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a bill that will effectively end forced arbitration in workplace sexual assault and harassment claims brought by victims

  • The bill, known as H.R.4445, or the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, passed Congress on a widely bipartisan basis in early February

  • The bill bars employment contracts from forcing people to settle sexual assault or harassment cases through arbitration rather than in court, a process that often benefits employers

  • Significantly, the bill is retroactive, nullifying that language in contracts nationwide and opening the door for people who had been bound by it to take legal action

The bill, known as H.R.4445, or the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, passed Congress on a widely bipartisan basis in early February. 

The bill bars employment contracts from forcing people to settle sexual assault or harassment cases through arbitration rather than in court, a process that often benefits employers and keeps misconduct allegations from becoming public.

Significantly, the bill is retroactive, nullifying that language in contracts nationwide and opening the door for people who had been bound by it to take legal action.

“When it comes to sexual harassment and assault, forced arbitration shielded perpetrators and silence survivors, enabled employers to sweep episodes of sexual assault and harassment under the rug and it kept survivors from knowing if others had experienced the same thing in the same workplace at the hands of the same person,” Biden said Thursday. “And yes, there will be cases where victims want their claims resolved in private, but some survivors will want their day in court and that should be their choice and nobody else's.”

Biden went on to thank the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who helped pass the legislation, saying it marked “an important step in an effort to ban mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses that takes the power to choose how to pursue justice away from the worker.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., originally introduced the legislation in 2017 and spearheaded its passage through Congress. Another key supporter for the bill was Gretchen Carlson, who accused Fox News chief Roger Ailes of sexual harassment while she was an anchor at the cable channel – but was told she had “no case” and could not go to court due to the forced arbitration clause in her contract. 

Carlson, who was present at Thursday’s bill signing, has called the legislation her “greatest life achievement.”

“I can't think of a better way to kick off Women's History Month than by signing a bill that will make the workplace safer for millions of women,” Carlson said at the White House event. 

“I'm here on behalf of the millions of American workers, who up until today have been voiceless, silenced for simply having the courage to come forward to say something bad happened at work, and in return, they got shunted into the secret chamber of arbitration,” she continued.

An estimated 60 million American workers had clauses tucked into their employment contracts forcing them to settle any allegations of sexual misconduct in private arbitration proceedings, rather than in court. The widespread practice came under fire in the wake of the #MeToo movement for forcing employees to seek recourse without a jury, a chance to appeal a decision or the sunlight of a public court process.

The clauses barring lawsuits are not just limited to employment contracts but have been found in other service agreements, preventing those who were sexually assaulted at nursing homes or massage parlors from taking their claims to court.

The president acknowledged there is still more work to be done on the issue during Thursday’s bill signing, and encouraged lawmakers to approve legislation that would ban mandatory arbitration in all employment contracts.

“I know there's discussion in Congress about whether forced arbitration clauses should also be banned for other kinds of employment disputes beyond sexual harassment and assault,” Biden said Thursday, adding: “I think it's all wrong and they should be banned.”  

The Associated Press contributed to this report.