On December 19, 2024, NWLC, Public Justice, and the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) submitted an amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Scoggins v. Menard, Inc. The brief argues that the Sixth Circuit should affirm the district court’s ruling that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (EFAA) permits the plaintiff, Michelle Scoggins, to bring her entire case in court because it includes sexual harassment claims.
As the brief describes, Congress passed the EFAA in 2022 to provide survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment with the right to seek justice in court instead of being forced into arbitration proceedings. The brief argues that Ms. Scoggins exercised that right when she elected to file suit in court rather than an arbitral forum. It also explains that Ms. Scoggins’s claims are subject to the EFAA because her claims accrued and her dispute arose after the EFAA’s enactment date, either of which would have sufficed to establish EFAA coverage. Finally, the brief clarifies that the EFAA invalidates arbitration agreements as to entire cases that contain a sexual harassment claim, not just the harassment claim itself. Thus, the brief argues, the district court was correct to permit Ms. Scoggins to proceed in court.