Balch & Bingham's Doug Kauffman, partner in the Birmingham office and member of the Labor & Employment Practice, recently spoke to the Birmingham Business Journal regarding the new Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, more commonly known as the #MeToo law, and how its effects may impact various employment arbitration agreements. President Biden signed the act into law on March 3, 2022.
In the article published on March 14, 2022, Doug shares that the law has the potential to increase the number of sexual assault and harassment claims heard in court. He discusses what employers should expect moving forward and how they could benefit from updating their employee arbitration policies.
“Many would say that a claim that they get to pursue in court with a jury is perhaps more valuable than one that would be in arbitration,” Kauffman said. “So it could impact the settlement values of harassment claims if an employer can no longer compel it to arbitration or force arbitration.”
Doug counsels organizations on how to manage their most valuable assets: their employers. He has counseled large and small employers for over 20 years by helping them stay up to date on the law, regulations and best practices with respect to employment compliance. He also handles complaints or audits by various government agencies, such as the EEOC, the Department of Labor, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he litigates all employment issues in court.
