[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5238 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5238
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit Amtrak from
including mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts of carriage, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 25, 2024
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Casey, Mr. Fetterman, Ms.
Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit Amtrak from
including mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts of carriage, 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 ``Ending Passenger Rail Forced
Arbitration Act''.
SEC. 2. NO VALIDITY OR ENFORCEABILITY OF ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS FOR
CONSUMER AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 24324. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to prohibit predispute arbitration agreements that
force arbitration of consumer and civil rights disputes between
Amtrak and customers of Amtrak; and
``(2) to prohibit agreements and practices that interfere
with the right of customers to participate in a joint, class,
or collective action related to consumer and civil rights
disputes between Amtrak and customers of Amtrak.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Amtrak.--The term `Amtrak' means the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation.
``(2) Civil rights dispute.--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; or
``(ii) any Federal, State, or local law
that prohibits discrimination on the basis of--
``(I) race, sex, age, gender
identity, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, or national
origin; or
``(II) any legally protected status
in education, employment, credit,
housing, public accommodations and
facilities, voting, veterans and
servicemembers, health care, or a
program funded or conducted by the
Federal Government or a 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
that relate to protecting individuals
on any such basis; and
``(B) in which at least 1 party alleging a
violation described in subparagraph (A) consists of 1
or more customers (or their authorized representative),
including 1 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.
``(3) Consumer dispute.--The term `consumer dispute' means
any dispute, including all claims related to personal injuries,
between Amtrak and 1 or more customers who seek or acquire--
``(A) services and accommodations provided by
Amtrak; or
``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
``(4) Customer.--The term `customer' means any individual,
except for an employee of Amtrak and without regard to whether
the individual is a minor or paid for the transportation, who
seeks or acquires--
``(A) services and accommodations provided by
Amtrak; or
``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
``(5) Predispute arbitration agreement.--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.
``(6) Predispute joint-action waiver.--The term `predispute
joint-action waiver' means an agreement, whether or not part of
a predispute arbitration agreement, which would prohibit, or
waive the right of, 1 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.
``(7) Rail passenger carrier.--The term `rail passenger
carrier' means a rail carrier providing--
``(A) intercity rail passenger transportation (as
such term is defined in section 24102); or
``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as
such term is defined in section 26105) transportation,
excluding a tourist, historic, scenic, or excursion
rail carrier.
``(c) In General.--
``(1) In general.--All predispute arbitration agreements
and predispute joint-action waivers shall be invalid and
unenforceable with respect to a consumer or civil rights
dispute between Amtrak (in its capacity as a rail passenger
carrier) and a customer of Amtrak.
``(2) Applicability.--
``(A) In general.--A determination of whether this
section applies to a particular dispute shall be made
in accordance with Federal law.
``(B) Authority of court.--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 by an arbitrator, regardless of whether--
``(i) the party resisting arbitration
challenges the arbitration agreement
specifically or in conjunction with other terms
of the contract containing such agreement; and
``(ii) the agreement purports to delegate
such determinations to an arbitrator.
``(C) Exclusion.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to apply to a predispute arbitration
agreement or joint-action waiver invoked in connection
with any dispute subject to the Railway Labor Act (45
U.S.C. 151 et seq.).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)--
(1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act; and
(2) shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that
arises or accrues on or after such date.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 243 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``24324. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration.''.
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