Source: Bloomberg Tax

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for transportation workers in interstate commerce applies to truck driver Angelo Brock, whose deliveries of Flowers Foods Inc. products occurred entirely within Colorado but were part of a continuous interstate journey. The opinion, filed 5/28/26 in Flowers Foods Inc. v. Brock, rejected arguments that a driver must personally cross state lines or load/unload goods from a vehicle that crossed borders to invoke §1, stating in Justice Gorsuch’s text that “Nor, we now add, does §1 turn on a game of tag with vehicles that do.” This marks the Court’s fourth opinion since 2019 clarifying who falls under the FAA exemption.

The ruling gives some “last‑mile” gig drivers — including those delivering for Amazon Flex and similar programs — a stronger basis to keep wage‑and‑hour claims out of arbitration, though the decision does not create a bright‑line rule and many fact‑specific disputes will remain. Attorneys and scholars quoted note potential downstream effects: companies may rethink contracting practices, including directing workers to form single‑employee corporations, an issue the Court left unresolved. Commentators named in the piece include Foley & Lardner partner Christopher Ward, professors Imre Szalai and Tamar Meshel, and arbitrator Lise Gelernter; the article emphasizes that further litigation will be needed to define precisely which transportation roles qualify for the exemption and when an interstate shipment ceases.