Alaska Employment Law

Sen. Russ Feingold (D.Wis) has introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 (S931), in reaction to the 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett opinion.  It would amend the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 USC § 1, et seq., to bar most pre-dispute arbitration agreements (there’s an exception for non-statutory or non-constitutional disputes governed by union contracts).

The substantive portion of the bill reads:

(a) In General- Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, franchise, or civil rights dispute.

(b) Applicability-

(1) IN GENERAL- An issue as to whether this chapter applies to an arbitration agreement 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 the court, rather than the 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.

(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 an employee 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.

The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

H/T: Linda Johnson