The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one of the most pro-employer Federal appellate courts in the United States, recently rendered an important decision that bodes well for the future prosecution of sex harassment claims. In Famuyide v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., the Court ruled that the employer cannot force a former employee and the plaintiff in the case to arbitrate her civil rights claims rather than pursue them in court. The Court based its decision on recently enacted legislation, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) that amended the Federal Arbitration Act. The EFAA prohibits mandatory arbitration provisions that would otherwise preclude the prosecution of sex harassment an sex assault claims in individual cases, in collective actions, or in class actions.

Famuyide is significant not only because it enables the survivor of alleged sex harassment to pursue her claims in court but also because the Court so ruled even though the EFAA became law both after the conduct in question occurred and after the plaintiff informed the employer that she intends to pursue her civil rights claims in court. In that regard, the Court reasoned the dispute arose when the plaintiff actually initiated the lawsuit – which occurred after the EFAA went into effect. This more flexible approach to the application of new employment law and civil rights protections could enable other plaintiffs to pursue harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims successfully in the future and to seek substantial emotional distress damages and other remedies in this context.