[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2969 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2969

 To amend title 9 of the United States Code to exclude all employment 
 contracts from the arbitration provisions of chapter 1 of such title; 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2005

    Mr. Kucinich (for himself, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
   Conyers, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Andrews) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 9 of the United States Code to exclude all employment 
 contracts from the arbitration provisions of chapter 1 of such title; 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preservation of Civil Rights 
Protections Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT.

    Section 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``of seamen'' and all that follows through ``commerce''.

SEC. 3. UNENFORCEABILITY OF ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN EMPLOYMENT 
              CONTRACTS.

    (a) Protection of Employee Rights.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any clause of any agreement between an employer and 
an employee that requires arbitration of a claim arising under the 
Constitution or laws of the United States shall not be enforceable.
    (b) Exceptions.--
            (1) Waiver or consent after claim arises.--Subsection (a) 
        shall not apply with respect to any claim if, after such claim 
        arises, the parties involved voluntarily consent to submit such 
        claim to arbitration.
            (2) Collective bargaining agreements.--Subsection (a) shall 
        not preclude an employee or union from enforcing any of the 
        rights or terms of a valid collective bargaining agreement.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

    This Act and the amendment made by section 2 shall apply with 
respect to all employment contracts in force before, on, or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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