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H.R. 5350: Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act of 2025, seeks to amend title 9 of the United States Code concerning arbitration agreements. The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Objectives

Prohibit predispute arbitration agreements that require individuals to submit future employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes to arbitration.
Prohibit agreements and practices that prevent individuals, workers, and small businesses from taking part in joint, class, or collective legal actions regarding any of the outlined disputes.

Details of the Amendments

The bill aims to introduce a new chapter to title 9 in the United States Code that specifically addresses:

Definitions

Within this chapter, key terms are defined:

Antitrust dispute: A dispute related to alleged violations of antitrust laws where plaintiffs seek class certification.
Civil rights dispute: A dispute arising from alleged violations of federal or state laws related to discrimination based on various protected categories, where one or more individuals may seek class certification.
Consumer dispute: A dispute between individuals seeking or acquiring property, services, or credit for personal use, where individuals may seek class certification.
Employment dispute: A dispute between individuals and their employer regarding work relationships, covering various employment-related issues.
Predispute arbitration agreement: An agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not yet occurred.
Predispute joint-action waiver: An agreement that prohibits participation in a joint or class action concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen.

Enforceability Restrictions

The bill specifies that:

No predispute arbitration agreement or predispute joint-action waiver concerning employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes shall be valid or enforceable.
Determinations regarding the applicability of this chapter will be made under federal law by a court, not an arbitrator. This means that courts will resolve whether such arbitration agreements exist and if they are enforceable.
The bill does not affect arbitration provisions in contracts between employers and labor organizations, but it does ensure that workers can seek judicial enforcement of their rights under relevant laws and constitutions.

Effective Date

The amendments proposed by this bill will be effective immediately upon its enactment and will apply to any disputes or claims arising after that date.

Voluntary Arbitration

The bill clarifies that it does not prohibit the use of arbitration on a voluntary basis after a dispute arises. This means individuals can still agree to arbitration for disputes that come up after the fact, as long as the agreement is made voluntarily and not as a condition of employment or service.