Surprise! Some of the Anti-Arbitration Bills Introduced in Congress This Year May Actually Become Law (One Already Has)

Abstract

Over the past several years, many bills were introduced by Congressional Democrats to restrict mandatory predispute arbitration agreement (“PDAA”) use. The 116th Congress has been no exception, especially with the Democrats controlling the House of Representtives. The new bills seek to amend the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), specific statutes like Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, or the National Labor Relations Act, or combinations thereof.In this article, I cover in an organized manner the key bills that have been introduced, starting with the FAIR Act (this Congress’ iteration of the dear, departed, Arbitration Fairness Act), or as I call it, “The AFA on Steroids”). I then segue to my predictions on what I think will happen, and close with what I suggest Congress actually do to effectuate meaningful change.

Keywords: Arbitration, Congress, Legislation

JEL Classification: K20