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On December 11, 2025, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find that local delivery drivers who operate entirely within one state are not considered “transportation workers” under a trial bar-favored exemption to the Federal Arbitration Act—the national policy favoring arbitration. In Flower Foods, Inc. v. Brock, a delivery driver hired to distribute baked goods from a warehouse in Denver to customers in Colorado signed an arbitration agreement stipulating that all disputes with the food manufacturer must be resolved through arbitration under the FAA. When a dispute over worker classification arose, the driver tried to dodge arbitration by relying on the FAA’s exemption for transportation workers “engaged in interstate commerce.” Unfortunately, the 10th Circuit endorsed this erroneous interpretation of the exemption, finding that the baked goods the driver was delivering previously traveled in interstate commerce and remained on a “continuous” interstate path until their final delivery. The manufacturer appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari in October.

Our brief argues that Congress did not intend for the FAA to broadly exclude all workers who handle goods that crossed state or national borders at some point in time. Both the plain meaning and historical context of the statute demonstrate that only workers who directly engage in transportation across state or national borders as a central part of the workers’ job description are exempt. This line should be clearly drawn to reduce uncertainty and costly litigation over the FAA’s application and the enforceability of arbitration agreements.