The U.S. Senate officially passed Bill S.2342 with bipartisan support on Wednesday in a move that would end forced arbitration in sexual harassment and assault cases in the workplace.

“No pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable regarding a case which is filed under Federal, Tribal, or State law and relates to the sexual assault dispute or the sexual harassment dispute,” the bill reads.

The move is a sweeping reform of the former law, which allowed forced arbitration clauses to keep cases out of the public eye and the judicial system. The system was seen as a win for employers over employees who may want to seek justice, but could not due to their employment contracts preventing them from suing in court, forcing them into the arbitration process.

If arbitration then did not lead to a settlement and the case ended up in private court, employers were more likely to win over employees.

Previously, even when cases would go to court, they could be extremely hard to prove and could also lead to undesirable outcomes, with issues like disproportionate sentencing, rape kit backlogs and “he said she said” arguments making it hard to prove a case.

The process could then be a long, drawn-out, grueling and even retraumatizing process.

The bill is being hailed as a win for the #MeToo movement, following years of more prominent men being accused and found guilty of sexual harassment and assault of women in the workplace, as well as accusations by women that their employers denied them the ability to speak up or seek justice.

While this bill is narrowly focused to apply to sexual assault and harassment, there is hope that a broader bill could be passed that outlaws forced arbitration in cases of race discrimination and consumer contracts as well.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature, where he is expected to officially make it a law.

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