The House of Representatives approved a defense spending bill by a vote of 395 to 34 that extends jobless benefits as well as prevents most defense contractors and subcontractors from forcing their employees or independent contractors to sign, as a condition of employment, agreements to arbitrate certain employment-related claims. The Senate approved this provision – introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act (pdf) (H.R. 3326) – in October.

The arbitration provision conditions the receipt of a federal defense contract worth more than $1 million on the contractor’s agreement not to do the following:

(1) enter into any agreement with any of its employees or independent contractors that requires, as a condition of employment, that the employee or independent contractor agree to resolve through arbitration any claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention; or

(2) take any action to enforce any provision of an existing agreement with an employee or independent contractor that mandates that the employee or independent contractor resolve through arbitration any claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.

The contractor also must certify that it has required all subcontractors to agree to these terms with respect to their own employees. The terms of this provision – which apply to contracts awarded at least 60 days after the Act’s effective date – would not apply to employment contracts that are unenforceable in this country. The Secretary of Defense may waive the application of these requirements for a particular contractor or subcontractor for the purposes of a particular contract or subcontract if the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary personally determines that the waiver is necessary to avoid harm to national security interests of the United States.

Aside from the arbitration restriction, the defense bill would extend both the COBRA premium subsidy offered by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA” or “Economic Stimulus”) and unemployment benefits. According to a summary (pdf) of the measure, the Act would extend the expanded unemployment benefits, including increased payouts and longer duration of benefits, through February 28, 2010. The bill would also extend from nine to 15 months the 65% COBRA health insurance subsidy available for qualified unemployed individuals. In addition, the job lost eligibility date would be pushed to February 28, 2010. Similar provisions were included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 (pdf), which the House is also scheduled to vote on today.