Simple answer – nope! On February 10, 2022, inspired by the #MeToo movement, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4445, an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), also known as the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.” I guess the acronym would be “EFASASHA,” but that looks kind of silly, so I’ll refer to it as the “Act.” President Biden signed this bill into law on March 3, 2022.
If your employees have signed pre-dispute arbitration agreements (e.g., as part of a contract or offer letter), they can no longer be forced to arbitrate cases involving sexual harassment or sexual assault. The Act also prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign agreements waiving their right to bring sexual harassment/sexual assault claims jointly or on a class basis.
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private employers with at least 100 employees. The Court ruled that OSHA exceeded its authority when issuing its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring either mandatory vaccination or weekly testing and face masks. The Court noted that OSHA is charged with regulating hazards in the workplace, not “hazards of daily life.” Because COVID-19 can and does spread outside of the workplace, according to the Court, the risk OSHA seeks to mitigate cannot be considered an occupational hazard.
On Friday night, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals gave OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID vaccination new life. As you may remember, OSHA issued an ETS requiring employers with 100 or more employees to adopt a vaccination policy that either made vaccination mandatory, or gave employees a choice between vaccination or weekly testing. The day after OSHA issued this ETS, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals entered an Order staying the ETS until further notice.
