A federal appeals court’s rejection of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.'s attempt to force a former worker’s sexual harassment and assault claims into arbitration under a landmark 2022 law because of timing sets the stage for more showdowns as judges further assess the statute’s reach.

In March 2022, Congress enacted a law limiting employers’ ability to mandate that employees pursue sexual assault or harassment claims through arbitration, rather than in court. The legislation was championed by former Fox News hosts Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, whose nonprofit, Lift Our Voices, advocates to end employment clauses that prevent workers from going public with claims about toxic workplaces.

The case is among the first to apply the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which took effect in 2022.

Gretchen Carlson is seated at a table in a blue suit, with a camera pointed at her. She looks serious, but comfortable: After a career in broadcast media, she’s used to being filmed.

Organizations regularly use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to conceal toxic workplace issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination. Despite their widespread use, the psychological and career impacts on workers bound by these contracts remained largely unexplored. Now, a new study reveals the hidden toll on employees compelled to sign NDAs.

Gretchen Carlson: When People Say It Can’t Be Done

One legal document has quietly reigned supreme in American board rooms, film sets, and sometimes even homes: non-disclosure agreements. Journalist Gretchen Carlson knows all too well the lengths workplace NDAs can go to silence employees, especially employees who speak out against mistreatment.

LOV co-founders Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky speak at the 2024 Social Innovation Summit.

“There is this immense grief of the American dream for people who have the courage to come forward about workplace sexual harassment.”

As the Senate moves to consider banning forced arbitration in age-discrimination cases, it’s time for companies to act to support older workers.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation to crack down on the use of forced arbitration in the workplace and expand legal options for employees facing age discrimination.

Gretchen Carlson is fighting to end forced arbitration in age discrimination lawsuits

LOV co-founder Gretchen Carlson testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on April 9th in support of the Protecting Older Americans Act.

Gretchen Carlson, along with her Lift Our Voices co-founder, Julie Roginsky, may have cracked the code for an increasingly rare phenomenon on Capitol Hill: bipartisan support.

A female employee of Citigroup recently sued the bank, accusing its leadership of tolerating a work culture in which she was sexually harassed and abused by male executives, in a high-profile application of a 2022 federal law that nullified forced arbitration for such cases.

“Our mission is for every protected class to not be subjected to these silencing mechanisms,” former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson told HR Dive.