Supreme Court sides with Flowers Foods distributors in arbitration fight

By AI, Created 8:26 PM UTC, May 28, 2026, /AGP/ – The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that last-mile workers can qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act’s transportation-worker exemption even if they never cross state lines. The decision lets a proposed class of Flowers Foods distributors pursue misclassification claims in federal court instead of private arbitration.

Why it matters: - The ruling broadens access to federal court for last-mile delivery workers, gig workers, warehouse loaders, and others whose jobs are part of interstate shipping. - The decision limits how far employers can use arbitration agreements to force individual disputes out of court. - The case turns on whether a worker is part of interstate transport, not on whether the worker personally crosses a state border.

What happened: - The Supreme Court unanimously ruled for Angelo Brock and a proposed class of Flowers Foods distributors in Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock, No. 24-935. - Justice Gorsuch authored the opinion. - The Court affirmed the Tenth Circuit and allowed Brock’s misclassification claims to proceed in federal court rather than private arbitration. - Brock is a last-mile distributor who picks up Flowers baked goods from a Colorado warehouse after the products have traveled from out-of-state bakeries and delivers them to local retailers. - Brock sued Flowers Foods, Flowers Bakeries, LLC, and Flowers Baking Co. of Denver, LLC. - The lawsuit alleges misclassification of Brock and other distributors as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Colorado wage law. - Flowers moved to compel individual arbitration. - The District of Colorado denied that request. - The Tenth Circuit affirmed that denial.

The details: - The Federal Arbitration Act generally requires courts to enforce private arbitration agreements. - Section 1 of the FAA exempts contracts of employment for seamen, railroad employees, and any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce. - Flowers Foods urged the Court to adopt a bright-line rule that a worker cannot qualify for the exemption unless the worker personally crosses state lines or interacts with a vehicle that does. - The Court rejected that interpretation. - The Court said the statute’s text does not support that rule. - The Court also said intrastate participants in a continuous interstate shipment have long been understood to be engaged in interstate commerce. - Flowers’ baked goods named in the case include Wonder Bread, Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, and Tastykake.

Between the lines: - The decision is a setback for companies that rely on arbitration clauses to keep classification disputes out of court. - The opinion gives workers and plaintiffs’ lawyers a stronger argument that last-mile delivery jobs tied to interstate supply chains fall within the FAA exemption. - Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP partner Craig Nicholas called the ruling “a decisive win for the workers who move America’s goods.” - Nicholas said the Court confirmed that workers driving one leg of an interstate shipment are engaged in interstate commerce.

What’s next: - Employers and courts will likely keep litigating which delivery, warehouse, and logistics jobs fall within the Section 1 exemption. - The ruling may affect arbitration strategy in wage-and-hour and misclassification cases nationwide. - Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP said it represents Flowers Foods distributors and other misclassified workers in California and across the country. - Mr. Nicholas is available for comment at cnicholas@nicholaslaw.org or (619) 384-7430.

The bottom line: - The Supreme Court’s ruling makes clear that a worker can be exempt from forced arbitration even without crossing state lines, if the worker is part of interstate goods transport.