# 119-hr-10641: Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act

119-hr-10641, Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10641
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10641
- Congress: 119
- Title: Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-10-01
- Sponsor: Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-16

## Summary

**Bans mandatory predispute arbitration and other forced waivers for disputes over employee benefits.** This bill would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to make most predispute arbitration clauses unenforceable and to tightly limit when postdispute arbitration or waivers are allowed. - Participants and beneficiaries would be able to bring ERISA claims or related common-law claims to court instead of being forced into predispute arbitration. Postdispute arbitration would only stand if the participant gave written consent after a notice and a waiting period of at least 45 days. - Employers, plan sponsors, plans, and plan service providers could not require predispute arbitration as a condition of participation or benefits. Plans other than multiemployer plans could not give administrators discretionary authority or require non-de novo court review for benefit decisions. - Courts, not arbitrators, would decide whether an arbitration provision is valid. The Secretary of Labor could write rules on notices and implementation. - The changes would take effect on enactment and apply to disputes arising on or after that date, with a 1-year window before plan-document updates are enforced.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3] (D-VA), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Stop forced arbitration for workers: benefit, medium. This bill would generally make any predispute arbitration clause about ERISA plan benefits invalid. A postdispute arbitration could be enforced only if it was voluntary, not coerced or required, you got a paper notice in plain language telling you you could refuse without retaliation, you waited at…
- Ban plan discretionary benefit rules: benefit, low. This bill would make unenforceable plan terms (for plans that are not multiemployer plans) that give the plan special discretionary power to decide benefits or interpret plan language. Courts would have to apply de novo review instead of a deferential standard when reviewing benefit decisions for t…
- Timing and one-year plan safe-harbor: mixed, low. This bill would make the changes effective on the date of enactment and apply to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after that date, even if older plan papers say something else. At the same time, a person would not be treated as violating the new rules solely because plan documents…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-10641 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10641)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10641 (as of 2026-10-16).