ECBAWM partner and civil rights litigator Zoe Salzman was quoted in the Law360 article “New York’s Ban on Bias Claim Arbitration Drubbed in Court,” which explores Section 7515, the provision of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) that prohibits mandatory arbitration clauses “except where inconsistent with federal law.”

Victims of discrimination and sexual harassment have cited CPLR § 7515 as the basis for voiding mandatory arbitration agreements. However, as the Law360 article points out, courts have largely refused to void mandatory arbitration agreements on the grounds that CPLR § 7515 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Salzman points out that the FAA was passed in 1925, when the concepts of discrimination and sexual harassment “simply didn’t exist.” It was rooted in the exercise of Commerce Clause powers and crafted as a means to efficiently address business and contract disputes. “The idea that it would apply to fundamental human rights issues was never contemplated,” said Salzman.