Obama Signs Anti-Arbitration Law

Under a new defense spending bill signed by President Obama, military contractors will no longer be able to require employees to settle a broad range of disputes with the company via arbitration. The issue gained national attention after Jamie Leigh Jones, an employee of KBR, claimed to have been raped by coworkers in Iraq. She brought suit against the company and the 5th Circuit ruled that she could force the company to defend some of the claims in court rather than through mandatory arbitration.

Under the new law, defense contractors can not receive federal money unless they allow many tort claims and any claim arising from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be settled in open court.