SS/SB 154 - This act provides that in an arbitration agreement between an employer and an employee the arbitrator shall make all initial decisions as to arbitrability, which includes deciding whether the parties have agreed to arbitrate, whether the arbitration agreement is enforceable, and whether specific claims are arbitrable. This provision shall not apply to arbitration agreements contained in a collective bargaining agreement. The arbitrator must be selected by mutual agreement of the parties or using a strike and ranking process when the parties cannot agree. The act establishes certain criteria for when the arbitrator shall determine that the arbitration agreement is valid. On motion by a party showing that the arbitration agreement does not expressly delegate the issue of arbitrability to the court, the court shall stay the action and order the parties to proceed to arbitration. Any clause in an arbitration agreement between an employer and an at-will employee that requires arbitration proceedings to be confidential and nondisclosable shall not be enforceable as to claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or claims of discrimination based on certain protected statuses.
This act is similar to HB 503 (2019), SB 578 (2018), SB 831 (2018), provisions in SCS/SB 1102 (2018), HB 1402 (2018), HB 1512 (2018), HB 2552 (2018), the perfected version of SB 45 (2017), HCS/HB 156 (2017), HB 976 (2017), SCS/SB 746 (2016), HCS/HB 1718 (2016), SB 412 (2015), and HB 928 (2015).
KATIE O'BRIEN