Sponsors (8)
The bill shifts dispute resolution toward collective, court-based enforcement — expanding workers' access to remedies and collective bargaining power while raising litigation exposure and short-term compliance costs for employers and courts.
Millions of workers — including low-income and middle-class employees, gig and freelance workers, and federal workers — can bring or join class, collective, or joint workplace claims in court rather than being forced into individual arbitration, increasing access to remedies for wage, hour, and discrimination disputes.
Workers gain stronger bargaining power and deterrence against employer misconduct because collective enforcement and strengthened protections for concerted activity (NLRA amendment) make employer wrongdoing more likely to be challenged and remedied.
Employees are protected from coercion and retaliation for refusing to sign arbitration waivers or for rejecting predispute mandatory arbitration, preserving their practical ability to pursue court-based remedies.
Small businesses and other employers could face significantly higher litigation costs and larger potential liabilities from more class and collective suits, which may lead to higher prices, reduced hiring, or downward pressure on wages.
Courts may see increased caseloads as disputes move from arbitration to litigation, potentially slowing resolution times and creating delays for both employees seeking remedies and employers defending claims.
Employers, arbitration providers, and some government entities will face short‑term administrative and compliance costs to revise contracts, dispute-resolution programs, and procedures to align with the new rules.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Bans mandatory predispute workplace arbitration and class/collective waivers, bars retaliation for refusing arbitration, and creates a federal arbitration chapter for work disputes.
Official title: To prohibit forced arbitration in work disputes, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 30, 2026 by Jerrold Lewis Nadler · Last progress July 30, 2026
Prohibits employers from forcing workers, before a dispute arises, to sign arbitration clauses or class/collective‑action waivers that block access to courts or collective relief. It bars retaliation for refusing such clauses, requires any post‑dispute arbitration to be voluntary and informed, and adds a new federal chapter governing arbitration of workplace disputes while amending the National Labor Relations Act to make forced waiver practices an unfair labor practice. The law takes effect on enactment and applies to claims that arise or accrue on or after that date, including claims under agreements made before enactment.