Employer cannot compel arbitration of sexual harassment and other unrelated claims

A California appellate court recently decided that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) precluded arbitration of a case where the alleged sexual assault and sexual harassment began before the EFAA was enacted, even though additional claims asserted by the former employee were not related to the alleged sexual assault or harassment.

Background on the EFAA

In 2022, Congress amended the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by passing the EFAA (9 U.S.C. §§ 401-402).

In general terms, the EFAA makes arbitration agreements unenforceable at the employee’s discretion in sexual harassment cases that arise or accrue on or after March 3, 2022, the Act’s effective date.

Lawsuit

A former employee of the Huntley Hotel—referred to in court as “Jane Doe” to protect her identity—sued the hotel and two of her former supervisors based on a number of claims, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, as well as several wage and hour violations.

According to Jane Doe, who worked as a server at the hotel’s restaurant, the sexual harassment began in 2019, when she was sexually assaulted by coworker Ryan Jackson. She reported the assault to her supervisor and asked that she not be assigned to work the same shifts as Jackson. At times, however, she was still scheduled to work shifts that overlapped with his.