Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon
Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon | |
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Argued March 28, 2022 | |
Full case name | Southwest Airlines Co. v. Latrice Saxon |
Docket no. | 21-309 |
Questions presented | |
Whether workers who load or unload goods from vehicles that travel in interstate commerce, but do not physically transport such goods themselves, are interstate "transportation workers" exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act. | |
Court membership | |
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Barrett took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. |
Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon (Docket 21–309) is a pending United States Supreme Court case related to the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act.
Background[]
Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, exempts "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce" from its scope. In its 2001 Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held the residual clause of Section 1 applies only to "transportation workers."
Latrice Saxon was a ramp supervisor for Southwest Airlines who directed the loading and unloading of cargo from the airline's flights. Saxon filed a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 disputing Southwest's handling of overtime pay for ramp supervisors. The airline invoked an arbitration clause in Saxon's employment contract, and the district court dismissed her suit on that basis, finding that the Federal Arbitration Act did apply to her contract. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, holding Saxon was a transportation worker and her job involved her working in interstate commerce. Southwest filed a petition for a writ of certiorari.[1]
Supreme Court[]
Certiorari was granted in the case on December 10, 2021.
References[]
- ^ Howe, Amy (December 10, 2021). "Justices agree to take up new cases on arbitration issues and international child custody". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- 2022 in United States case law
- United States Supreme Court cases
- United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court
- United States arbitration case law
- United States class action case law
- United States labor case law
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