Arbitration -- 2020



Wallace, et al., v. Grubhub Holdings, Inc.   (7th Circuit)

Enforcing arbitration of local delivery drivers' wage and hour claims

The NAM filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to uphold a district court’s decision finding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which is a national policy favoring arbitration, covers the arbitration agreement of a purely local, intrastate delivery driver's wage and hour claims. The plaintiffs had unsuccessfully argued that the drivers are exempt from the statute's coverage because they are transportation workers. But that approach threatens substantial litigation costs both from future disputes over the FAA’s application and from judicial decisions that deprive businesses and workers of the benefits of the FAA. Arbitration is important to manufacturers because it encourages efficient employment practices by providing lower costs to the parties and faster results in a dispute, thus avoiding drawn-out and costly litigation. The NAM’s brief argued that the plain meaning of the FAA does not exempt local delivery drivers from arbitration, and the FAA must be given a precise meaning within historical context. On August 4, 2020, the Seventh Circuit agreed, holding that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that the interstate movement of goods was a central part of the job description of the class of workers to which they belong.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (December 20, 2019)