Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Logo Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Logo
  • Lawyers
  • Practices
  • Insights
  • About
  • Careers
  • Alumni
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  •  icon
  • Podcasts icon
© 2026 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
    • Home
    • Lawyers
    • Practices
    • Insights
    • About
    • Careers
    • Alumni
    Home /  Insights /  Memos and Newsletters /  Memo
    S&C Memos

    Supreme Court Addresses Transportation-Worker Exemption to Federal Arbitration Act

    U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Airline Cargo Loaders Are Exempt From the Federal Arbitration Act

    June 15, 2022 | min read |
    • Related Practices

    Among other things, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) authorizes U.S. courts to enforce arbitration agreements in “contract[s] evidencing a transaction involving commerce,” but excludes from its scope “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 596 U.S. ___, 2022 WL 1914099 (June 6, 2022), that workers “who load cargo on and off airplanes belong to a ‘class of workers in foreign or interstate commerce’” to which the FAA does not apply. In an 8-0 opinion authored by Justice Thomas, the Court affirmed a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and, in reaching its decision, opined that a worker’s actual job duties—rather than the industry category to which his or her employer belongs—should be used to “define the relevant ‘class of workers’” applicable to the claimant. The Court reiterated its holding in Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, that the ejusdem generis canon instructs courts to interpret the residual category of workers exempted from the FAA, i.e., “any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce,” in light of the specifically exempted categories of “seamen” and “railroad employees.”

    Read More
    Stay Updated

    Subscribe to stay current on S&C Insights.

    Related Practices Related Practices

    • Employment Law
    • International Arbitration and Global Dispute Resolution
    • Supreme Court and Appellate
    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Logo Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Logo
    • Twitter icon
    • LinkedIn icon
    • RSS Feed icon
    • Podcasts icon
    • Contact Us
    • Cookies
    • Privacy & Disclaimers
    • Attorney Advertising
    © 2026 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP