New Jersey Judge Interprets EFAA As Requiring Employment Claims to Be Split Into Two Forums
Real World Impact : A recent New Jersey Superior Court decision interpreting the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) may require New Jersey employers to defend an employee’s employment-related claims before both a judge and arbitrator. Background New Jersey Bergen County Superior Court Judge John O’Dwyer recently ruled in Paton v. Davis Saperstein that some employee claims against an employer must be arbitrated, but other claims relating to sexual harassment had to be litigated. As explained below, the court’s decision on how to apply the federal EFAA is contrary to court decisions in other states. In 2022, in response to the #MeToo movement, President Biden signed the EFAA, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to prohibit mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment and assault claims. Specifically, the law renders a pre-dispute arbitration agreement or joint action waiver unenforceable in a case that ...