Flowers Foods Tests the Limits of the FAA's Transportation Worker Exemption

On March 25, 2026, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock, with Traci L. Lovitt arguing for the petitioners and Jennifer D. Bennett arguing for respondent Angelo Brock. The argument marks the Court’s most direct engagement yet with the outer boundaries of the Federal Arbitration Act’s § 1 exemption, which excludes from the FAA’s coverage “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.”

Brock worked as a distributor delivering Flowers Foods’ baked goods within a local territory in Colorado. The goods originated out of state, but Brock himself never crossed state lines and had no contact with interstate vehicles. When he sought to bring a collective action rather than arbitrate his claims, Flowers Foods moved to compel arbitration. The Tenth Circuit held that Brock fell within § 1’s exemption.

The legal question turns on how far the phrase “engaged in…interstate commerce” extends beyond workers who physically cross borders. The 22 amicus briefs filed here, including submissions from AARP, the National Employment Law Project, and a coalition of states, reflect the breadth of interests at stake on both sides. See the full Supreme Court docket for the complete record.

The decision will affect a large class of last-mile and local delivery workers whose contracts contain arbitration clauses. A narrow reading of § 1 would push more of those workers into individual arbitration; a broad reading would preserve their access to collective litigation. For additional background on the case, the Oyez page provides audio and argument summaries.