SCOTUS to decide if Southwest baggage handlers exempt from arbitration

The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether airline workers who supervise baggage handlers play a large enough role in interstate commerce to exempt them from having to arbitrate their employment-related claims and allow them to sue in court instead. The court on Friday granted Southwest Airlines Co's petition for review of a March ruling by the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals that said workers involved in loading and unloading cargo that crosses state lines are "engaged in interstate commerce" and exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitration act generally requires courts to uphold agreements workers sign to arbitrate legal disputes but exempts seamen, railroad employees and other workers who play a key role in moving goods across the country. Arbitration of workers' individual legal claims can be far cheaper for companies than defending against class actions in court, which can lead to multimillion-dollar judgments and settlements. The 7th Circuit said the exemption applies to Southwest's "ramp supervisors" because they are integral to air travel, and revived a proposed class action seeking overtime pay. The 5th Circuit had come to the opposite conclusion in a separate 2020 case involving Lufthansa workers with the same job.<br/>