Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens older workers' access to courts and improves enforcement of age-discrimination law, at the cost of higher litigation burdens for employers and greater pressure on judicial resources, with some transitional uncertainty.
Older workers who experience age discrimination can bring claims in court instead of being forced into predispute arbitration, increasing their access to public judicial remedies.
Courts and regulators would have clearer statutory authority to hear and enforce ADEA/age-discrimination claims, likely improving enforcement and deterrence of age discrimination.
Employers, including small businesses, may face higher litigation costs as more age-discrimination cases proceed in court rather than through arbitration.
Removing or limiting predispute arbitration could increase federal court caseloads, potentially slowing resolution times for other civil cases and raising costs for taxpayers.
If the new chapter establishes procedures that differ from existing ADEA processes, employers and employees may face transitional uncertainty about forum and remedies.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars predispute arbitration clauses from covering age-discrimination disputes in federal arbitration law and updates Title 9 cross-references.
Official title: Amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration of disputes involving age discrimination.
Introduced September 3, 2025 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress September 3, 2025
Prohibits pre-dispute arbitration agreements from covering disputes that allege age discrimination by adding a new chapter to Title 9 of the U.S. Code. It updates cross-references in Title 9 to reflect the new chapter and makes the ban apply only to claims that arise or accrue on or after the law’s enactment date.