FAIR Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5350 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5350

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 15, 2025

 Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Bonamici, Ms.
 Brownley, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Casar, Mr. Casten,
 Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania,
 Ms. DelBene, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Fletcher,
Mr. Foster, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Garcia of California, Ms.
   Garcia of Texas, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr.
   Gottheimer, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr.
     Khanna, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Magaziner, Ms.
  McClellan, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Mrvan, Mr.
   Neguse, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Mr. Peters, Ms.
 Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Ross, Ms. Scanlon,
   Mr. Sherman, Ms. Simon, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Stanton, Mr.
    Swalwell, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Tran, and Ms.
Williams of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal
Act of 2025'' or the ``FAIR Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) prohibit predispute arbitration agreements that force
        arbitration of future employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil
        rights disputes; and
            (2) prohibit agreements and practices that interfere with
        the right of individuals, workers, and small businesses to
        participate in a joint, class, or collective action related to
        an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute.

SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST, AND CIVIL
              RIGHTS DISPUTES.

    (a) In General.--Title 9 of the United States Code is amended by
adding at the end the following:

``CHAPTER 5--ARBITRATION OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST, AND CIVIL
                            RIGHTS DISPUTES

``Sec.
``501. Definitions.
``502. No validity or enforceability.
``Sec. 501. Definitions
    ``In this chapter--
            ``(1) the term `antitrust dispute' means a dispute--
                    ``(A) arising from an alleged violation of the
                antitrust laws (as defined in subsection (a) of the
                first section of the Clayton Act) or State antitrust
                laws; and
                    ``(B) in which the plaintiffs seek certification as
                a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil
                Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State
                law;
            ``(2) the term `civil rights dispute' means a dispute--
                    ``(A) arising from an alleged violation of--
                            ``(i) the Constitution of the United States
                        or the constitution of a State; or
                            ``(ii) any Federal, State, or local law
                        that prohibits discrimination on the basis of
                        race, sex, age, gender identity, sexual
                        orientation, disability, religion, national
                        origin, or any legally protected status in
                        education, employment, credit, housing, public
                        accommodations and facilities, voting, veterans
                        or servicemembers, health care, or a program
                        funded or conducted by the Federal Government
                        or State government, including any law referred
                        to or described in section 62(e) of the
                        Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including parts
                        of such law not explicitly referenced in such
                        section but that relate to protecting
                        individuals on any such basis; and
                    ``(B) in which at least one party alleging a
                violation described in subparagraph (A) is one or more
                individuals (or their authorized representative),
                including one or more individuals seeking certification
                as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil
                Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State
                law;
            ``(3) the term `consumer dispute' means a dispute between--
                    ``(A) one or more individuals who seek or acquire
                real or personal property, services (including services
                related to digital technology), securities or other
                investments, money, or credit for personal, family, or
                household purposes including an individual or
                individuals who seek certification as a class under
                rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a
                comparable rule or provision of State law; and
                    ``(B)(i) the seller or provider of such property,
                services, securities or other investments, money, or
                credit; or
                    ``(ii) a third party involved in the selling,
                providing of, payment for, receipt or use of
                information about, or other relationship to any such
                property, services, securities or other investments,
                money, or credit;
            ``(4) the term `employment dispute' means a dispute between
        one or more individuals (or their authorized representative)
        and a person arising out of or related to the work relationship
        or prospective work relationship between them, including a
        dispute regarding the terms of or payment for, advertising of,
        recruiting for, referring of, arranging for, or discipline or
        discharge in connection with, such work, regardless of whether
        the individual is or would be classified as an employee or an
        independent contractor with respect to such work, and including
        a dispute arising under any law referred to or described in
        section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including
        parts of such law not explicitly referenced in such section but
        that relate to protecting individuals on any such basis, and
        including a dispute in which an individual or individuals seek
        certification as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of
        Civil Procedure or as a collective action under section 16(b)
        of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or a comparable rule or
        provision of State law;
            ``(5) the term `predispute arbitration agreement' means an
        agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not yet arisen at the
        time of the making of the agreement; and
            ``(6) the term `predispute joint-action waiver' means an
        agreement, whether or not part of a predispute arbitration
        agreement, that would prohibit, or waive the right of, one of
        the parties to the agreement to participate in a joint, class,
        or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative,
        or other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at
        the time of the making of the agreement.
``Sec. 502. No validity or enforceability
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
title, no predispute arbitration agreement or predispute joint-action
waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to an employment
dispute, consumer dispute, antitrust dispute, or civil rights dispute.
    ``(b) Applicability.--
            ``(1) In general.--An issue as to whether this chapter
        applies with respect to a dispute shall be determined under
        Federal law. 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 court, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the
        party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration
        agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of
        the contract containing such agreement, and irrespective of
        whether the agreement purports to delegate such determinations
        to an arbitrator.
            ``(2) 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
        organizations, except that no such arbitration provision shall
        have the effect of waiving the right of a worker to seek
        judicial enforcement of a right arising under a provision of
        the Constitution of the United States, a State constitution, or
        a Federal or State statute, or public policy arising
        therefrom.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) In general.--Title 9 of the United States Code is
        amended--
                    (A) in section 1 by striking ``of seamen,'' and all
                that follows through ``interstate commerce'' and
                inserting in its place ``of individuals, regardless of
                whether such individuals are designated as employees or
                independent contractors for other purposes'';
                    (B) in section 2 by striking ``chapter 4'' and
                inserting ``chapter 4 or 5'';
                    (C) in section 208 by striking ``chapter 4'' and
                inserting ``chapter 4 or 5''; and
                    (D) in section 307 by striking ``chapter 4'' and
                inserting ``chapter 4 or 5''.
            (2) Table of chapters.--The table of chapters of title 9 of
        the United States Code is amended by adding at the end the
        following:

``5. Arbitration of Employment, Consumer, Antitrust, and         501''.
                            Civil Rights Disputes.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on
the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to any
dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after such date.

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be
construed to prohibit the use of arbitration on a voluntary basis after
the dispute arises.
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