SB 728 - In arbitration agreements 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 arbitration, whether the arbitration agreement is valid and enforceable, and whether specific claims are arbitrable. Furthermore, 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. These provisions shall not apply to arbitration agreements contained in a collective bargaining agreement nor shall these provisions be construed as the exclusive means for entering into a valid and enforceable arbitration agreement. Additionally, 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 a protected status.
This act is similar to SS/SB 154 (2019), HB 503 (2019), SB 578 (2018), SB 831 (2018), provisions in SCS/SB 1102 (2018), HB 1402 (2018), HB 1512 (2018), a provision in HB 2552 (2018), 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