California Mediation and Arbitration

Arbitration, FAA, Transportation Workers: SCOTUS Holds FAA Transportation Worker Exemption Applies To Airline Workers Who Load Cargo

The FAA Exempts Interstate-Transportation Workers And Others Like Them From Arbitration.

        On June 6, 2022, in an 8-0 opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, SCOTUS held that Latrice Saxon, a ramp supervisor for Southwest Airlines, was exempted by the Federal Arbitration Act from having to arbitrate. Southwest Airlines v. Saxon, No. 21-309 (S. Ct. 6/6/22). A catchall-phrase in the FAA, exempting from arbitration "any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce” covered Saxon. 

        COMMENT: Saxon brought a putative class action for wage and hour violations. How helpful the ruling will be for class actions involving workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce is uncertain, because SCOTUS did not accept Saxon's argument that the exemption applied broadly to all airline workers. At the same time, SCOTUS did not accept Southwest Airlines' argument that the exemption applied  narrowly to workers who actually transported goods across state lines. In future cases, the courts will have to look closely at the specific facts to determine the scope of the exemption. 

Arbitration, FAA, Transportation: 9th Circuit Agrees Domino's Drivers Transporting Pizza Ingredients To Franchisees Intrastate Are Engaged In Interstate Commerce

Engaged In Interstate Commerce, Domino's Drivers Delivering Pizza Ingredients Intrastate Are Exempt From Requirements of Federal Arbitration Act. 9 U.S.C § 1.

 

 

How Domino's Makes Its Pizza ↑

Downtown LA Pizza. Carol Highsmith, photographer. 2012. Library of Congress. ↑

Jon Stewart Deep Dish Pizza Rant. ↓

 

                                                                                 

        In an opinion penned by Judge Hurwitz, the 9th Circuit affirmed a  district court  decision denying Domino 's motion to compel arbitration in a labor law lawsuit brought by drivers who delivered pizza ingredients from a central distribution center to Domino's franchisees. Carmona v. Domino's Pizza, No. 21-55009 (9th Cir.  12/23/21) (Hurwitz, McLane, Parker).     

        The Federal Arbitration Act exempts transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce from the requirements of the FAA. The drivers working for  Domino's work in-state, but when they deliver pizza ingredients to Domino's franchisees, they are acting as  workers engaged in a “single, unbroken stream of interstate commerce” that renders interstate commerce a “central part” of their job description. Judge Hurwitz relied on a similar 9th Circuit case involving Amazon delivery drivers, Rittmann v. Amazon.com, Inc., 971 F.3d 904 (9th Cir. 2020). See our earlier 8/31/20 post on Rittmann. 

        Judge Hurwitz writes that there are distinctions between the Amazon and Domino's Pizza cases: "The customers to whom the Amazon drivers delivered the interstate goods in Rittmann initiated the purchases online with Amazon . . .  while the Domino’s franchisees order the goods from the Supply Center in California only after Domino’s has already purchased them. But this is a distinction without a difference." In the end, the drivers are still participating in a single, unbroken stream of interstate commerce.