Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC
Issues
Does exemption from the Federal Arbitration Act depend on the specific industry that employs transportation workers, or on the nature of the work they perform?
This case asks the Court to determine whether the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) exemption includes employees who do not work within the transportation industry but conduct work related to transportation. Employee Petitioners argue that the Court should not adopt the Second Circuit's interpretation that industry is dispositive because doing so would be inconsistent with the ruling in Saxon. Additionally, Petitioners argue that Congress specifically phrased the statute to include all workers whose work aided the transportation industry. Employer Respondents, on the other hand, counter that the Court should consider industry as dispositive because this would be consistent with the ruling in Circuit City. Further, Respondents argue that workers who historically fell under similar acts passed by Congress have been those who worked within the transportation industry and—in the case of seamen—had employment contracts that distinguished them as such. This case touches on important questions regarding discrepant treatment of employees and the availability of arbitration as an alternative to judicial action.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether, to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, a class of workers that is actively engaged in interstate transportation must also be employed by a company in the transportation industry.
In 1925, Congress enacted the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) to enforce employer-employee agreements to arbitrate; however, the act excluded “seamen, railroad employees, and any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” Reuters, US Supreme Court to decide scope of arbitration exemption for transp
Additional Resources
- Alison Frankel, Trucker or baker? Appeals court splits over Supreme Court arbitration precedent, Reuters (September 27, 2022).
- Daniel Wiessner, US Supreme Court to decide scope of arbitration exemption for transportation workers, Reuters (September 29, 2023).
- Jonathan Baccay, The Supreme Court Will Address a Circuit Split on a Federal Arbitration Act Exemption, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (September 29, 2023).