H.R. 4445 · 117th Congress

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021

Introduced on Jul 16, 2021 by Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17). 25 cosponsors, 8 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-90.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-90
Introduced
Jul 16, 2021
Cosponsors
25
8 from the other party
Policy area
Law
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

To amend title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration of disputes involving sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Subjects

  • Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
  • Assault and harassment offenses
  • Contracts and agency
  • Crime victims
  • Employment discrimination and employee rights
  • Labor-management relations
  • Sex offenses
  • Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Mar 3, 2022). Public domain.

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021

This bill invalidates arbitration agreements that preclude a party from filing a lawsuit in court involving sexual assault or sexual harassment, at the election of the party alleging such conduct.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Cheri BustosD-IL-17Sponsor

Democrats · 17

Republicans · 8

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Agreeing to the Amendment
    Feb 7, 2022· House· Amendments· Agreed to 427–0
  2. On Passage
    Feb 7, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 335–97

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 16, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jul 16, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jul 16, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  4. Nov 17, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  5. Nov 17, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 27 - 14.
  6. Jan 28, 2022Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 117-234.
  7. Jan 28, 2022 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 117-234.
  8. Jan 28, 2022 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 169.
  9. Feb 2, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 900 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3485, H.R. 4445 and H.R. 4521. The rule provides for one hour of general debate on H.R. 3485 and H.R. 4445. The rule provides for two hours of general debate on H.R. 4521. The resolution provides for one motion to recommit for all three bills. The resolution amends H. Res. 188 by striking February 4, 2022 and inserting April 1, 2022. Also, the resolution provides that proceedings may be postponed through March 3, 2022 on measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative day of February 1, 2022, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered.
  10. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 900. (consideration: CR H983-993)
  11. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 3485, H.R. 4445 and H.R. 4521. The rule provides for one hour of general debate on H.R. 3485 and H.R. 4445. The rule provides for two hours of general debate on H.R. 4521. The resolution provides for one motion to recommit for all three bills. The resolution amends H. Res. 188 by striking February 4, 2022 and inserting April 1, 2022. Also, the resolution provides that proceedings may be postponed through March 3, 2022 on measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative day of February 1, 2022, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered.
  12. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 4445.
  13. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House continued with debate on H.R. 4445.
  14. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 900, the House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Buck amendment.
  15. Feb 7, 2022 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Buck amendment, the Chair put the question on agreeing to the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Jordan demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  16. Feb 7, 2022 · HousePursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further proceedings on H.R. 4445 were postponed.
  17. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H994-995)
  18. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseUNFINISHED BUSINESS - The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question of agreeing to the Buck amendment, which was debated earlier an on which further proceedings had been postponed.
  19. Feb 7, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 335 - 97 (Roll no. 33).(text: CR: H984)House · Roll call 33
  20. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 335 - 97 (Roll no. 33). (text: CR: H984)House · Roll call 33
  21. Feb 7, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  22. Feb 8, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 264.
  23. Feb 10, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  24. Feb 10, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S621-628)
  25. Feb 10, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  26. Mar 2, 2022Presented to President.
  27. Mar 2, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  28. Mar 3, 2022Signed by President.
  29. Mar 3, 2022Signed by President.
  30. Mar 3, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-90.
  31. Mar 3, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-90.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.