[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 595 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 595
To provide a cause of action for violations of laws related to COVID-
19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2021
Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Takano, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Pocan,
Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Lee of California, Mr.
Cicilline, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide a cause of action for violations of laws related to COVID-
19, and for other purposes.
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 the ``COVID-19 Justice and Accountability
Act''.
SEC. 2. CAUSE OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF COVID-19 LAWS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual may bring
a cause of action in the appropriate district court of the United
States against any person who violates or fails to comply with a
requirement under the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136), the Families
First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127), or the Coronavirus
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law
116-260), or an amendment made by each such Act, for harm that the
individual suffered as a result of such violation or failure.
SEC. 3. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ARBITRATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this law,
during the covered emergency period no predispute arbitration agreement
or predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with
respect to an employment dispute, consumer dispute, antitrust dispute,
or civil rights dispute.
(b) Applicability.--
(1) In general.--An issue as to whether this section
applies with respect to a dispute shall be determined under
Federal law. The applicability of this section to an agreement
to arbitrate and the validity and enforceability of an
agreement to which this section applies shall be determined by
a court, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the
party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration
agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of
the contract containing such agreement, and irrespective of
whether the agreement purports to delegate such determinations
to an arbitrator.
(2) Collective bargaining agreements.--Nothing in this
section shall apply to any arbitration provision in a contract
between an employer and a labor organization or between labor
organizations, except that no such arbitration provision shall
have the effect of waiving the right of a worker to seek
judicial enforcement of a right arising under a provision of
the Constitution of the United States, a State constitution, or
a Federal or State statute, or public policy arising therefrom.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered emergency period'' means the period
beginning on the date on which the President declared a
national emergency under the National Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect to the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19) and ending on the date that is 180 days after
such emergency is terminated.
(2) The term ``antitrust dispute'' means a dispute--
(A) arising from an alleged violation of the
antitrust laws (as defined in subsection (a) of the
first section of the Clayton Act) or State antitrust
laws; and
(B) in which the plaintiffs seek certification as a
class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State
law.
(3) The term ``civil rights dispute'' means a dispute--
(A) arising from an alleged violation of--
(i) the Constitution of the United States
or the constitution of a State; and
(ii) any Federal, State, or local law that
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, national origin, or any
legally protected status in education,
employment, credit, housing, public
accommodations and facilities, voting, veterans
or servicemembers, health care, or a program
funded or conducted by the Federal Government
or State government, including any law referred
to or described in section 62(e) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including parts
of such law not explicitly referenced in such
section but that relate to protecting
individuals on any such basis; and
(B) in which at least one party alleging a
violation described in subparagraph (A) is one or more
individuals (or their authorized representative),
including one or more individuals seeking certification
as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State
law.
(4) The term ``consumer dispute'' means a dispute between--
(A) one or more individuals who seek or acquire
real or personal property, services (including services
related to digital technology), securities or other
investments, money, or credit for personal, family, or
household purposes including an individual or
individuals who seek certification as a class under
rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a
comparable rule or provision of State law; and
(B)(i) the seller or provider of such property,
services, securities or other investments, money, or
credit; or
(ii) a third party involved in the selling,
providing of, payment for, receipt or use of
information about, or other relationship to any such
property, services, securities or other investments,
money, or credit.
(5) The term ``employment dispute'' means a dispute between
one or more individuals (or their authorized representative)
and a person arising out of or related to the work relationship
or prospective work relationship between them, including a
dispute regarding the terms of or payment for, advertising of,
recruiting for, referring of, arranging for, or discipline or
discharge in connection with, such work, regardless of whether
the individual is or would be classified as an employee or an
independent contractor with respect to such work, and including
a dispute arising under any law referred to or described in
section 62(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including
parts of such law not explicitly referenced in such section but
that relate to protecting individuals on any such basis, and
including a dispute in which an individual or individuals seek
certification as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure or as a collective action under section 16(b)
of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or a comparable rule or
provision of State law.
(6) The term ``predispute arbitration agreement'' means an
agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not yet arisen at the
time of the making of the agreement.
(7) The term ``predispute joint-action waiver'' means an
agreement, whether or not part of a predispute arbitration
agreement, that would prohibit, or waive the right of, one of
the parties to the agreement to participate in a joint, class,
or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative,
or other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at
the time of the making of the agreement.
(d) Application.--This section shall apply with respect to any
dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date on which
the covered emergency period began.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit the use of arbitration on a voluntary basis after
the dispute arises.
<all>