Eighth Circuit Says EFAA Claim Filed Before Its Enactment Still Applies

On August 5, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) covers an ex-worker’s claims even if the EFAA claim arose before the law’s enactment in March 2022.

Bloomberg reports that the ruling, which affirmed a lower court decision, might be useful in persuading judges outside the circuit to use the panel’s interpretation of the statute’s applicability to “any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date of enactment of this act.”

The decision came in the defendant’s appeal of a Minnesota court’s decision in Famuyide v. Chipotle Mexican Grill. Chipotle tried to force its ex-employee into arbitration.

The panel rejected Chipotle’s argument that the start date for the claim should have been at the time of misconduct or when her lawyer wrote Chipotle in February 2022 that she was considering suing.

Writing for the panel, Judge Steven Colloton said, “Sometimes a dispute ensues after this type of correspondence. But sometimes it does not, either because the client decides not to proceed further after investigation or because the communications result in an amicable resolution between the correspondents.”

The panel held that the ex-worker’s EFAA claim arose when she served the legal complaint in Minnesota state court. The law itself was ambiguous on this issue.

Judges Bobby E. Shepherd and David R. Stras joined Colloton in the Eighth Circuit decision.