[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 852 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 852

To provide that employment-related arbitration agreements shall not be 
enforceable with respect to any claim related to a tort arising out of 
                                 rape.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 24, 2015

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide that employment-related arbitration agreements shall not be 
enforceable with respect to any claim related to a tort arising out of 
                                 rape.

    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 ``A Voice for Victims Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal law has long held that workplace disputes may 
        be the subject of valid agreements to arbitrate unless Congress 
        ``has evinced an intention to preclude'' such agreements for 
        the disputes at issue. (See Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane 
        Corp., 500 U.S. 20, 26 (1991)).
            (2) It is the intent of Congress that employees not be 
        compelled by an employer to arbitrate any claim related to a 
        tort arising out of rape.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to evidence the intent of 
Congress to preclude an employer from enforcing an agreement to 
arbitrate any claim related to a tort arising out of rape.

SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF CERTAIN CONTROVERSIES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
agreement made between an employer and an employee to arbitrate a 
dispute shall not be enforceable with respect to any claim related to a 
tort arising out of rape.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--This Act shall not be construed to 
limit, in any way, the broad construction given to the scope of 
employment under any Federal or State workers' compensation law.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commerce.--The term ``commerce'' means trade, traffic, 
        commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication--
                    (A) among the several States;
                    (B) between a State and any place outside thereof;
                    (C) within the District of Columbia or a possession 
                of the United States; or
                    (D) between points in the same State but through a 
                point outside thereof.
            (2) Industry affecting commerce.--The term ``industry 
        affecting commerce''--
                    (A) means any activity, business, or industry in 
                commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or 
                obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce;
                    (B) includes any activity or industry affecting 
                commerce, within the meaning of the Labor-Management 
                Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 401 et 
                seq.); and
                    (C) includes any governmental industry, business, 
                or activity.
            (3) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means a person engaged 
        in an industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees 
        for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in 
        the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such a 
        person, but such term does not include--
                    (A) the United States, a corporation wholly owned 
                by the Government of the United States, or any 
                department or agency of the District of Columbia 
                subject by statute to procedures of the competitive 
                service (as defined in section 2102 of title 5, United 
                States Code); or
                    (B) a bona fide private membership club (other than 
                a labor organization) which is exempt from taxation 
                under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                1986.
            (4) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an individual 
        employed by an employer, except that the term ``employee'' 
        shall not include any person elected to public office in any 
        State or political subdivision of any State by the qualified 
        voters thereof, or any person chosen by such officer to be on 
        such officer's personal staff, or an appointee on the policy 
        making level or an immediate adviser with respect to the 
        exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of the office. 
        The exemption set forth in the preceding sentence shall not 
        include employees subject to the civil service laws of a State 
        government, governmental agency or political subdivision. With 
        respect to employment in a foreign country, such term includes 
        an individual who is a citizen of the United States.
                                 <all>