The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that last-mile delivery drivers are exempt from compelled arbitration under the FAA, resolving a circuit split and expanding class-action exposure for logistics employers.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on May 28, 2026, that delivery drivers who transport goods solely within a single state, as the final leg of an interstate journey, are exempt from compelled arbitration under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act [1]. The decision, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, holds that the exemption turns on whether a worker is part of an interstate supply chain, not on whether the worker personally crosses state lines [2]. The ruling resolves a longstanding circuit split over the reach of the FAA's transportation-worker exemption [3].
The case, Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock, arose from a wage dispute brought by Angelo Brock, a distribution franchisee who delivered baked goods for Flowers Foods within Colorado [2]. Flowers Foods moved to compel arbitration under its franchise agreement. The Tenth Circuit declined to enforce that clause, finding Brock exempt under Section 1, and the Supreme Court affirmed [3]. Gupta Wessler LLP argued for Brock before the Court [1]. The case was docketed as No. 24-935 [3].
The substantive significance is considerable. Section 1 of the FAA carves out "workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce" from the statute's arbitration-compulsion machinery. For years, employers argued that intrastate drivers fell outside that carve-out because their individual routes never cross state lines. The Court rejected that position, holding that the commerce engaged in, not the route driven, determines exempt status [2]. The ruling directly implicates Amazon delivery contractors, food-distribution franchisees, and the broader gig-economy logistics workforce, all of whom perform intrastate final-mile deliveries as part of national supply chains [1]. Employers who relied on arbitration clauses to channel worker disputes away from courts and class-action vehicles will need to reassess those agreements [2].
The practical consequences will arrive quickly. Workers in pending wage and hour disputes who were compelled to arbitrate may now seek to reopen those proceedings or file in court [1]. Employers across the delivery, e-commerce, and food-distribution sectors face expanded class-action exposure on claims that were previously funneled into individual arbitration [2]. Litigation Logic will monitor district court rulings as plaintiffs move to vacate existing arbitration orders in light of the decision.