---
kind: "section"
citation: "9 U.S.C. § 401"
title: "9"
title_heading: "Arbitration"
number: "401"
heading: "Definitions"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/9/401"
units:
  - "Chapter 4 — Arbitration of Disputes Involving Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment"
---

# §401. Definitions


In this chapter:

- (1) **Predispute arbitration agreement.—** The term “predispute arbitration agreement” means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that had not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agreement.
- (2) **Predispute joint-action waiver.—** The term “predispute joint-action waiver” means an agreement, whether or not part of a [predispute arbitration agreement](#1), that would prohibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative, or other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agreement.
- (3) **Sexual assault dispute.—** The term “sexual assault dispute” means a dispute involving a nonconsensual sexual act or sexual contact, as such terms are defined in [section 2246 of title 18](/usc/18/2246.md) or similar applicable Tribal or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent.
- (4) **Sexual harassment dispute.—** The term “sexual harassment dispute” means a dispute relating to conduct that is alleged to constitute sexual harassment under applicable Federal, Tribal, or State law.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 117–90, § 2(a), Mar. 3, 2022, 136 Stat. 26.)

## Notes

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date

Pub. L. 117–90, § 3, Mar. 3, 2022, 136 Stat. 28, provided that: “This Act [see Short Title of 2022 Amendment note set out under section 1 of this title], and the amendments made by this Act, shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 3, 2022].”